5 ancient shipwrecks found off Italy coast

July 25, 2009|Associated Press

ROME - Archeologists have found five well-preserved Roman shipwrecks deep under the sea off a small Mediterranean island, with their cargo of vases, pots, and other objects largely intact, officials said yesterday.

The ships are submerged 330 to 490 feet off Ventotene, a tiny island that is part of an archipelago off Italy’s west coast between Rome and Naples.

The ships, which date from between the first century B.C. and the fourth century, carried amphorae - vases used for holding wine, olive oil, and other products - as well as kitchen tools and metal and glass objects that have yet to be identified, Italy’s Culture Ministry said. The spot was highly trafficked, and hit by frequent storms and dangerous sea currents.

The discovery is part of a new drive by archeological officials to scan deeper levels of the sea and prevent looting of submerged treasures.

Discoveries of shipwrecks are not unusual in the Mediterranean, but these ships are far better preserved than most, which are often found scattered in fragments, said Annalisa Zarattini, the head of the ministry’s office for underwater archeology.

Because the ships sank at a deeper lever than most known wrecks, they were not exposed to destructive underwater currents, she said.

The ships also sank without capsizing, allowing researchers to observe their cargo largely as it had been loaded, Zarattini said.

“It is like an underwater museum,’’ Zarattini said. The finding also sheds light on the trade routes of ancient Rome, marking the area as a major commercial crossroads, she said.