Italian specialist divers have discovered an ancient Roman shipwreck off the coast of Sicily, stacked with hundreds of well-preserved ceramic containers believed to be more than 2,000 years old.
The wreck was found approximately 46 meters, or 150 feet, below the surface near Mazara del Vallo. According to BBC News, the ship measures 21 meters long and 6 meters wide. Italy's Culture Ministry says it dates from the second or first century BC.
Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli called the find "one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years." The divers who located the site belong to the cultural heritage protection arm of Italy's police, known as the Carabinieri Art Squad. They were sent to the site after receiving a tip from fishermen.
The first person to actually see the wreck was fisherman and free-diver Giacomo De Mola, who had been surveying the seabed when something appeared on his scanner.
"I get closer. And my heart stops. It wasn't a rock," he wrote on social media. Instead, he found hundreds of amphorae, the tall ceramic jars used in the ancient era to transport wine, oil, and grain.
"This is, without a doubt, the most incredible discovery of my life," he said. "It's hard to describe what it feels like to be among the first humans, in nearly 20 centuries, to see that place again."
De Mola posted video of the wreck showing marine life that has made the site its home. "The sea never ceases to amaze us," he wrote. "This time we didn't just find a wreck, we found a piece of our history."
Officials say safety measures will be taken to protect the site while experts work to determine more about the vessel's nature and cargo.
The Mediterranean seabed is thought to contain many similar ancient wrecks. A comparable vessel from the first or second century BC was found northwest of Rome in 2023, also laden with hundreds of amphorae. In 2018, a Greek merchant ship more than 2,400 years old was found lying on its side off the Bulgarian coast and was at the time hailed as the oldest-known intact shipwreck in the world.
