2000-year-old Roman cargo shipwreck found laden with artefacts off coast near Rome

The Carabinieri police’s art squad in Italy discovered the wreckage of an ancient Roman ship almost 2,000 years old off the port of Civitavecchia, about 50 miles (80km) northwest of Rome.

The Cabinieri said on Friday that the shipwreck dates from about the 1st or 2nd Century BC and was found loaded with hundreds of amphorae which is a type of Roman terracotta jar.

The pottery was found mostly intact, the Carabinieri police’s art squad said in a statement.

The ship which measures more than 20 meters long was located on a sandy seabed at a depth of about 160 metres (525 ft), a statement said.

“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.

The police art squad in charge of protecting Italy’s priceless cultural heritage said that a remotely controlled robot was used to find the artefact and video it, Reuters reported.

Whether any efforts would be taken to recover it or its cargo from the ocean’s bottom was not immediately evident.

Despite the fact that amphorae were normally used to transport products like oil, wine, or fish sauce, the purpose of the Roman jars on board is unknown. the BBC reported.

However, these objects can be seen all over the ancient eastern Mediterranean region.

Additionally, the recent discovery of the wrecked ship is not unusual as the Mediterranean is believed to be home to thousands of them.

Previously, a Greek commercial ship going back more than 2,400 years was discovered laying on its side off the coast of Bulgaria in 2018 and was known to be the oldest intact shipwreck ever discovered.

Numerous shipwrecks from the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine eras were also discovered in the Aegean Sea in 2018.