As if sailing through sand, the Ma’agan Micha’el ship’s freshly exposed stem shows remarkably little damage despite 2,400 years of submersion in the Mediterranean. The wood recovered from the ship was so well-preserved in its anaerobic environment beneath rocks and sand that it still had the faint odor of resin; this, together with the lack of shipworm infestation and the general absence of wear and tear led the investigators to surmise that the ship was on its maiden voyage when it sank.