 A fascinating ancient shipwreck full of wine jars has been discovered at the bottom of the ocean – and most of them are somehow still intact. The wreckage of the Roman cargo ship from more than 2,000 years ago was found off the Italian coast near Rome, officials confirmed today. It had come to rest on a sandy seabed west of the port of Civitavecchia, around 50 miles north-west of the capital city, according to the arts squad of Italy's Carabinieri police. Officers say the boat is lying at a depth of around 525ft (160m) below the surface of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which makes up part of the Mediterranean. Measuring more than 20 metres long, the vessel dating from the first or second century BC was carrying hundreds of amphorae, which is a type of ancient Roman jar. Remarkably, many of the jars – which were typically used for transporting goods such as wine, oil or fish sauce – are completely undamaged thousands of years later. The relic was located and filmed using a remotely operated robot, said Italy's police art squad, which is responsible for protecting the country's incredible cultural heritage. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Italy's Carabinieri officers used a remote controlled robot in the discovery (Picture: Carabinieri TPC) It's not yet known if experts will now try and recover the ship, or its precious cargo, from the sea floor. 'The exceptional discovery is an important example of the shipwreck of a Roman ship facing the perils of the sea in an attempt to reach the coast, and bears witness to old maritime trading routes,' the Carabinieri said. Italian police scuba diving squads regularly patrol the western coast to protect underwater archaeological treasures from looters. Archaeologists came across two ancient Roman ships within a matter of weeks in){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A fascinating ancient shipwreck full of wine jars has been discovered at the bottom of the ocean – and most of them are somehow still intact.
The wreckage of the Roman cargo ship from more than 2,000 years ago was found off the Italian coast near Rome, officials confirmed today.
It had come to rest on a sandy seabed west of the port of Civitavecchia, around 50 miles north-west of the capital city, according to the arts squad of Italy’s Carabinieri police.
Officers say the boat is lying at a depth of around 525ft (160m) below the surface of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which makes up part of the Mediterranean.