By Paul Joseph
Italian divers have discovered a more than 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck off the coast of Sicily, with hundreds of well-preserved pottery containers believed to have carried goods such as wine, olive oil and grain.
The wreck was found about 46 metres (150ft) beneath the sea near Mazara del Vallo after fishermen alerted authorities to a possible underwater discovery.
According to Italy’s Culture Ministry, the vessel dates to between the second and first centuries BC and measures about 21 metres long and six metres wide.
Specialist divers from Italy’s Carabinieri Art Squad were deployed to examine the site, which remains largely intact and surrounded by marine life.
Fisherman and free-diver Giacomo De Mola said he discovered the wreck while surveying the seabed after his scanner detected what appeared to be a large rock.
On approaching the object, he found hundreds of ancient amphorae scattered across the vessel.
Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli described the discovery as one of the country’s most significant underwater archaeological finds in recent years.
Authorities are taking measures to protect the wreck while experts investigate its construction, cargo and historical significance.
The Mediterranean is known to contain numerous ancient shipwrecks. Another Roman vessel dating to the first or second century BC was discovered near Rome in 2023, also carrying hundreds of amphorae.
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