The uncertainty around the earliest naval battle

What was the first recorded naval battle?

There are very early depictions that may show naval combat, but the evidence is too uncertain to identify one securely as the first recorded battle.

Evidence that people fought at sea is easier to identify than a securely dated first naval battle. Ancient reliefs appear to show maritime combat, but their original setting, date, participants, and relationship to the event portrayed may all be uncertain. Comparable early evidence exists in more than one region, including China. A precise first recorded battle remains uncertain, despite indications of naval fighting long before the surviving written accounts.