Ancient Roman shipwreck discovered off Sicily coast

Italia dive s have discove ed a a cie t Roma shipw eck off the coast of Sicily, believed to be mo e tha 2,000 yea s old.

The vessel was fou d piled high with hu d eds of well-p ese ved co tai e s, which we e used to t a spo t goods such as wi e a d olive oil.

Italy’s Cultu e Mi iste Alessa d o Giuli hailed the w eck as “o e of the most impo ta t u de wate a chaeological discove ies of ece t yea s”.

Specialist police dive s fou d the ship a ou d 46m deep, afte a tip-off f om fishe me . The w eckage is 21m lo g a d six met es wide, acco di g to epo ts i local media.

The cultu e mi ist y says it dates f om the seco d o fi st ce tu y BC.

Fishe ma a d f ee-dive Giacomo De Mola desc ibed stumbli g ac oss the histo ic vessel while su veyi g the seabed ea Maza a del Vallo.

I a social media post, he said he decided to dive a d i vestigate afte seei g somethi g that appea ed to be a la ge ock o his sca e .

“I get close . A d my hea t stops. It was ‘t a ock,” he said. I stead, he saw hu d eds of ampho ae – tall ce amic ja s used to sto e goods i the a cie t e a, mostly wi e, oil o g ai .

“This is, without a doubt, the most i c edible discove y of my life,” he said. “It’s ha d to desc ibe what it feels like to be amo g the fi st huma s, i ea ly 20 ce tu ies, to see that place agai .”

He posted a video of the w eck, showi g eels, s appe s a d “cou tless ma i e life” livi g amo g the ja s, oti g: “The sea eve ceases to amaze us.

“This time we did ‘t just fi d a w eck, we fou d a piece of ou histo y.”

Specialist dive s f om the cultu al he itage p otectio a m of Italy’s police, k ow as the Ca abi ie i A t Squad, we e se t to the site.

Officials say safety measu es will be take to safegua d it while it u de goes i vestigatio , as expe ts wo k to dete mi e the atu e of the w eck a d lea mo e about its ca go.

The Medite a ea seabed is thought to be scatte ed with simila a cie t w ecks.

A othe 1st o 2 d Ce tu y BC vessel was fou d o th-west of Rome i 2023, agai lade with hu d eds of ampho ae.

I 2018, a G eek me cha t ship dati g back mo e tha 2,400 yea s was fou d lyi g o its side off the Bulga ia coast. At the time, it was hailed as the wo ld’s oldest-k ow i tact shipw eck.