SOUTH KINGSTOWN – A team of archaeologists from the University of Rhode Island, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Louisville have discovered the remains of a fleet of early 19th-century ships and ancient harbor structures from the Hellenistic period at the Israeli city of Akko, an ancient port of the eastern Mediterranean.

The discoveries were presented on Nov. 15 and Nov. 17 at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research by URI assistant professors Bridget Buxton and William Krieger, on behalf of the Israel Coast Exploration project. The discoveries were made while testing equipment in preparation for an ongoing survey in deeper water. The report says that the findings are expected to shed light on a period of history [third to first century B.C.] about which little is known and could point to where additional remains lay buried. •

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