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Copyright Institute of Nautical Archaeology

Sunken treasure found off Uluburun on the southern coast of Anatolia included a wax tablet or “book” dating to the 14th century B.C. The folding tablet closely matches one mentioned in the Iliad. When young Bellerophon rejects advances from the queen of Argos, she unjustly accuses him of trying to seduce her; the king, enraged, sends Bellerophon away with a folding tablet addressed to the king of Lycia. Inside the tablet, etched in wax with a stylus, were instructions for Bellerophon to be killed upon arrival. The Uluburun folding tablet found off the coast of Lycia provides further evidence that many of the objects, places and names in Homer’s epics are accurate representations of artifacts from the Late Bronze Age.