Italy, Greece find hundreds of amphorae buried with ancient shipwrecks on Mediterranean sea floor

Two separate ancient shipwrecks were discovered in the depths of the Mediterranean over the past few weeks, providing insight into the trade routes used in antiquity. 

In late July, the wreckage of an ancient cargo ship was located near the island of Andros by officials from the Greek Culture Ministry’s Underwater Antiquities unit.

The ship, discovered at a depth of 39 to 44 meters, was found based on the report of a private individual who had alerted Greek authorities to the presence of archaeological artifacts in the area.

Approximately 600 to 650 commercial pointed-bottom amphorae dating to the late fifth and early fourth centuries BCE were found alongside the ship’s remains, according to the ministry.

Among the hundreds of amphorae found, archaeologists successfully identified at least three different types of commercial pointed-bottom amphorae: Mende, Peparethos, and Solokha 2. 

Mende amphorae are made of a light clay with a well-defined neck and were made in the ancient Greek city of the same name, located on the western coast of the Pallene peninsula.

Peparethos amphorae, made on the island of Skopelos, have a rounded rim and a more rounded shape.

Solokha 2, referring to a Scythian burial mound in Ukraine, may point to ancient international trade routes connecting the Black Sea to Greece.

One amphora of each type was carefully selected as a research sample.

A section of a lead anchor stock was also discovered at the shipwreck, along with a small number of stones that may have been part of the ship’s ballast.

Over 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck found off of Sicily

At the start of August, Italy’s Culture Ministry announced that a 2,100-year-old Roman-era shipwreck had been discovered off the coast of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily.

Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli deemed the discovery “one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years.”

Underwater fisherman Giacomo De Mola, who first discovered the ship during a sonar survey about three miles off Sicily’s coast, described the breathtaking moment he noticed the wreckage.

“Visibility was not the best,” Mola wrote in his post. “I moved closer. And my heart stopped. It was not a rock. Beneath me was an immense field of amphorae.”

“Hundreds of amphorae that had remained on the seabed for more than 2,000 years. A Roman ship asleep in the silence of the Mediterranean.”

Notifying his fellow fisherman of the discovery, the pair immediately alerted the Sicilian Regional Superintendency of the Sea to the find.

The wreck was found at a depth of around 46 meters, with hundreds of Dressel 1A type amphorae buried in the surrounding sea floor, along with two lead anchor stocks and another structure made from the same material.

Mola noted that alongside the Dressel 1A amphorae, Lamboglia 2 amphorae, North African amphorae and Neo-Punic amphorae were also found.

A 3D survey of the wreck has also been carried out, Mola said.

“The sea never stops surprising us,” he concluded. “This time, we did not find only a wreck. We found a piece of our history.”