Massive Roman shipwreck discovered in Mediterranean

2,000-year-old Roman vessel heavily laden with amphorae

Wrecks & Archaeology

Greek archaeologists have discovered the remains of a massive Roman vessel believed to be the largest classical shipwreck found in the eastern Mediterranean. Believed to have sunk some 2,000 years ago, the 35-metre vessel was discovered at a depth of around 60m during a survey off Kefalonia, one of the Ionian islands off Greece’s west coast. The site is situated 1.5 miles from the entrance to the harbour of Fiscardo, the island's only village to not be destroyed during World War II.

Sixth-century shipwreck discovered off Cyprus

Around 800 Roman amphorae dating to the end of the 6th or the 7th century AD have been found scattered in Akrotiri-Dreamers Bay in Cyprus.
This discovery has also confirmed the shipwreck of a substantial vessel for that period, the international edition of Tornos News reports.

Wrecks & Archaeology

The survey was carried out by staff from the University of Southampton, Centre for Maritime Archaeology, as part of the Ancient Akrotiri Project, an ongoing collaborative research project on the peninsula conducted since 2015 and led by the University of Leicester.

Survey conducted by divers using underwater scooters, enabled wider coverage of the offshore approaches, identified new finds including numerous stone anchors and what appears to be the remains of a wreck carrying roof tiles, still of uncertain date.

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Malta's Deep-Water Wrecks

Ranging from calm shore dives for beginner divers to technical diving on elusive, unmarked wreck sites, which can only be found via depth sounder—diving in Malta has it all. Just beyond Malta’s dramatic underwater landscapes of strange rock formations, chimneys and caves, visitors can discover Malta’s intriguing and piquant past.

Words:
Fatin Iesa
Images:
Dave Gration, University of Malta, Heritage Malta
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Wrecks & Archaeology

To aid visiting divers, a newly created Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit (UCHU) has been formed within the Heritage Malta agency under the country’s cultural ministry to manage the deep historical wreck sites of Malta. The UCHU provides information regarding the history of the wrecks, how to appreciate them and what the proper etiquette is when visiting these war graves.

Currently rated as the world’s tenth smallest and fifth most densely populated country, Malta is the biggest of the three islands of the Maltese Archipelago, which also includes Gozo and Comino islands. This archipelago sits in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, 93km south of Italy and 288km north of Africa, surrounded by warm clear waters and year-round temperate climate.

Scores of ancient shipwrecks found in Greek archipelago

Underwater archaeologists have discovered 22 shipwrecks around a small Greek archipelago, revealing what may be the ancient shipwreck capital of the world

Wrecks & Archaeology

RPM Nautical fundation, an American maritime research non-profit, announced this week that they have just uncovered a whopping 22 shipwrecks around the Fourni archipelago—a find they say adds 12 percent to the total number of known ancient shipwrecks in Greece. Over half of the wrecks date to the Late Roman Period (circa 300-600 A.D.). Overall, the shipwrecks span from the Archaic Period (700-480 B.C.) to the Classical (480-323 B.C.) and Hellenistic (323-31 B.C.) through the Late Medieval Period (16th century).

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Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk-Kul: Touching Eternity

In Medieval times, when Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan was a stop-over on the Silk Route, which connected Europe and Asia, the lake level was some 8m lower than it is today. In areas along what used to be the coastline but have since become submerged, divers have discovered the remains of a 2,500-year-old advanced civilization. Vladimir Gudzev and his buddies went to the area to have a look.

Words:
Vladimir Gudzev
Images:
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Travel & Trips

The first account I heard of diving in Lake Issyk-Kul was an expedition many years ago headed by Academician Orbeli and comprised of a group of volunteers using ISA-M 48 oxygen rebreathers to explore the shallow waters along the coast. The story stuck in my mind—in case I ever got the opportunity to go there. As matters eventually turned out, I did. A friend of mine, Valentin Bukin, happened to work in a small research center on the coast of Lake Issyk-Kul, near the village of Cholpon-Ata.

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Panarea III

— GUE Helps Advance Underwater Archaeology.

This is a “black and blue” story of Panarea III, a 2,200-year-old shipwreck discovered in the Mediterranean just north of Sicily.

Words:
Alba Mazza
Francesco Spaggiari
Images:
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Ecology & Science

The Aeolian Archipelago is a group of seven volcanic islands north of Sicily, Italy. The islands are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites both for their unique natural environment on land and underwater, and for their oral tradition. The archipelago is named after Aeolus, the mythological Greek god of the wind, and perhaps for good reason. The wind, together with strong currents, unpredictable weather conditions, make the islands one of the most dangerous places for seafarers to navigate.

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Uluburun: The Oldest Wreck in the World

1300 BC—A merchant ship, laden with treasures from seven different cultures and commodities of Cypriot origin was traveling on a 1,700-mile trade route when it sank for unknown reasons at Cape Uluburun (near Kas on the south coast of the Antalya region of Turkey). Much knowledge about prehistoric trade and nautical navigation during the late Bronze Age, including secrets that could rewrite the whole story, began a sleep on the sea floor—a 3,300-year-long sleep.

Words:
Rico Besserdich
Images:
Museum of Underwater Archeology in Bodrum
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Wrecks & Archaeology

Science was able to answer 1000-year-old questions, driving traditional analysts into desperation and changing the existing historic world view substantially.

 

Named after the place where it was discovered (Cape Uluburun), the Uluburun is the oldest known shipwreck in the world and a finding of superlatives. She brought answers to many questions, but she also introduced many new mysteries that science has yet to explain, even today.

Divers find ancient bust of Julius Caesar in French river

Divers in France have found the oldest known bust of Roman dictator Julius Caesar at the bottom of the River Rhone

Wrecks & Archaeology

The marble bust was found near Arles, which was founded by Caesar.

France's culture ministry said the bust was from 46BC, the date of the southern town's foundation. The ministry described the bust - which shows a lined face and a balding head - as typical of realist portraits of the Republican era.

Caesar was a politician and general of the late Roman republic, who greatly extended the Roman empire before seizing power and making himself dictator of Rome, paving the way for the imperial system.

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