The Ottoman period shipwrecks of akko Harbour, Israel

The historic walled port city of Akko, a unesco world heritage site, is located at the north-eastern extremity of Haifa Bay, on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. During the 17^th-19^th centuries, Akko was one of the commercial ports along the Levant, and site of several naval campaigns as the militarily strategic ‘Key to the East’. The four Ottoman period shipwrecks in Akko harbour affirm its maritime importance, add essential information to the knowledge of the construction of ships that plied the eastern Mediterranean in the twilight of the Ottoman period, and shed light on the nature of seafaring, commerce, and other maritime activities along the Levant coast.