An ancient Roman merchant ship, approximately 2,100 years old, has been discovered off the coast of Sicily. The find was made by Italian divers, reports infohub.kz.
Divers from the Carabinieri unit for the protection of cultural heritage, together with the regional maritime directorate, found the vessel at a depth of 46 meters, about three miles from the coast of the city of Mazara del Vallo. The ship measures 21 meters in length and 6 meters in width.
The unique object was found thanks to a tip from underwater hunters Giacomo De Mola and Igor Bisulli, who noticed an anomaly on the scanner and descended to the bottom. At the wreck site, archaeologists recorded hundreds of well-preserved amphorae of the "Dressel 1A" type—cylindrical vessels that were widely used in the 2nd-1st centuries BC for transporting wine. They also found two lead anchor stocks.
Italy's Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, called the find one of the most important in underwater archaeology in recent years. Research will continue to more precisely determine the ship's route and details of trade during the late Roman Republic.