Roman Republic cargo ship found near Sicily

[guy]

 

A 2,000‑year‑old Roman shipwreck has been discovered this summer off the coast of Sicily — and Italian authorities are calling it one of the most significant underwater archaeological finds in recent years.
 

Divers from the Carabinieri Art Squad located a Roman merchant vessel dating to the 2nd–1st century BC, lying 46 meters deep and three miles off Mazara del Vallo. The ship is roughly 20 meters long and 6 meters wide. 
 

Based on construction style and context, the ship is believed to date from between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, a period of intense maritime trade across the Mediterranean. This places it in the late Republican era, when Sicily was a major grain‑exporting hub for Rome.

The ship’s size suggests a merchant cargo vessel, likely used for transporting goods such as amphorae, grain, wine, or olive oil — typical commodities of Sicilian‑Roman trade routes.

Italian authorities reported that numerous amphorae were visible on and around the wreck, confirming that the ship was a cargo vessel. Amphorae were the standard shipping containers of the Roman world, used for long‑distance transport of liquids and preserved foods.

The amphorae recovered from the wreck are thought to have contained staples of Roman commerce, most plausibly wine, olive oil, or processed foods such as fish sauce, reflecting Sicily’s role as a major supplier to the Republic. Their presence confirms the vessel’s identity as a merchant ship engaged in long‑distance trade, and the specific shapes and residues of the amphorae will allow archaeologists to determine both the cargo’s origin and its intended markets.

 

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/roman-shipwreck-thought-to-be-over-2-000-years-old-discovered-off-italy-coast/4022654

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:29 AM by guy

[guy]

Here is the background of the man who found the shipwreck:

 

An Italian spearfishing champion, Giacomo De Mola, accidentally stumbled onto one of the most significant recent archaeological finds in Italy: a 2,000‑year‑old Roman shipwreck lying about three miles off the coast of Sicily. What he first assumed were ordinary rocks turned out to be hundreds of uniformly shaped amphorae, the classic two‑handled clay vessels used to transport wine, oil, and other goods across the Mediterranean.

Here is an example of similar two-handled amphorae found in past:

 

 

https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-a-spearfisher-accidentally-discovered-a-2000-year-old-roman-shipwreck/