Aside from the iron fire basket, the shipwreck yielded rectangular lead fishing net sinkers used to weigh down cast nets. A five-pronged fishing spear made of iron was also in the wreck, as was a tubular, iron sounding lead.
Sounding leads are metal bobs used to measure water depth. Fishermen would fill the hollow portion with tallow, attach the bob to the end of a sounding line, and then fling them over the side of the boat. Both the length of the line and debris stuck to the tallow would indicate depth measurement.
The scientists think the sounding lead provides further evidence for fire fishing at night, since fishermen then charted their course using the stars, but would need the sounding lead "to locate a specific fishing ground."
"When returning home at night, or in conditions of low visibility, the sounding lead was an essential navigational aid," they explained.
A bronze steelyard weight in the shape of a woman was also found in the shipwreck. It was probably used to balance the heft of fish on a makeshift scale.
Multiple bronze coins, also found among the ship's remains, date the wreck to around 665 A.D., right after a Muslim conquest. It is therefore possible that the fishermen and their boat were causalities of the Byzantine-Muslim conflict at the time.
K.C. Hanson, editor and chief of Wipf and Stock Publishers, researched ancient fishing practices associated with the New Testament for a Biblical Theology Bulletin paper.
Hanson told Discovery News that fire fishing is not directly mentioned in the Bible, but the Bible does include information about the other artifacts and early fishing practices.
"Keep in mind that four of the original disciples were fishermen," he said. "And how would an individual such as Jesus connect and meet new people? By building networks based on fishing villages around the Sea of Galilee."
Hanson explained that early fishermen from the region, including the apostles, probably used most of their catch for garum, "which was a very important source of protein, particularly for the poor who couldn't afford whole, fresh fish."
He said garum consisted of fish pieces preserved in a salt brine or olive oil. It would have been more liquefied than today's canned tuna and other fish, and was used in soups, with grains and in other preparations.
Hanson added, "Writings from the time reveal that some people loved it, while others thought it tasted like dreadful glop."
Related Links:
The Galilean Fishing Economy and the Jesus Tradition
All About Garum
Wikipedia: Fishing
