Two Roman Shipwrecks Found Deep in Mediterranean Sea Between Greece and Italy

Two Roman-era shipwrecks have been found off the coast of a Greek Island nearly a mile deep beneath the surface of the ocean.According to Greece's culture ministry, the two ships were discovered during a survey that was assessing where a Greek-Italian gas pipeline is to be sunk.The third-century wrecks are among the deepest and most ancient found in the Mediterranean Sea and during a recent wreck diving expedition, a Greek oceanographic vessel captured footage of the ships' contents using side-scan radar and robot submarines.

The depth of the location of the ships is unusual due to their age and most vessels of that era would usually stick to coastal routes rather than braving out into the open sea.Angeliki Simossi, the head of Greece's underwater antiquities department, explained ancient shipwrecks are usually found between 30-40 meters deep."There are many Roman shipwrecks, but these are in deep waters. They were not sailing close to the coast," Simossi said."

The conventional theory was that, as these were small vessels up to 25 meters (80 feet) long, they did not have the capacity to navigate far from the coast, so that if there was a wreck they would be close enough to the coast to save the crew."After the wreck diving excursion, the footage showed that the ships' remains included storage jars that were used to carry food and wine, cooking utensils, anchors, ballast stones, samples of pottery and a marble vase.A type of amphorae that is produced in North Africa was found in one of the ships and Simossi believes the vessel could have started its voyage there and headed towards Greece after a stop in Italy.U.S. archaeologist Brendan Foley, explained that deep wrecks are often more intact than those found in shallower waters."

So they contain far more archaeological and historical information than other sites," he noted. "As a result, the deep sea floor of the Mediterranean is the world's greatest repository for information about the earliest civilisations."Due to its position in the Mediterranean Sea, Greece's waters are home to thousands of shipwrecks from different centuries and it has become one of the region's most popular scuba diving destinations.The Greek government has many restrictions in place to protect wrecks and unsalvaged ancient items but visitors can enjoy clear waters and an abundance of marine creatures during scuba diving holidays.