A simple spearfishing session off the coast of Sicily turned into one of the most thrilling archaeological encounters of recent years, when an Italian diver approached what he considered an ordinary rock, only to realize with bated breath that he stood before an intact 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck stacked with hundreds of ancient amphorae.
Specifically, Italian spearfisher and diver Giacomo De Mola could not believe his eyes when what he thought was an underwater rock turned out to be the shipwreck of a 2,000-year-old Roman merchant vessel off the coast of Sicily.
De Mola and his fellow spearfisher and diver Igor Bisulli were spearfishing off Mazara del Vallo last week when they spotted something they considered to be merely a rock at a depth of 40 to 50 meters. «However, something... pushed me to check. One last breath. And I dive. Visibility is not the best. I see a large dark mass and think: "The usual large rock"», De Mola wrote in a post on Instagram.
The cultural heritage protection unit of the Italian Carabinieri located a Roman-era shipwreck approximately three miles off Mazara del Vallo in western Sicily. The seabed where the vessel was discovered will be studied and placed under protection by the authorities.
«I approach. And my heart stops. It was not a rock. Beneath me lay a vast expanse of amphorae. Hundreds of amphorae that had been on the seabed for over 2,000 years. A Roman ship sleeping in the silence of the Mediterranean. When I surface, I tell Igor: "You cannot imagine what is down there"».
Subsequently, the divers alerted the Regional Superintendency of the Sea for Sicily, which informed the Carabinieri cultural heritage protection unit dealing with antiquities.
The Carabinieri verified that the submerged vessel dates between the second and first century BC. It carried hundreds of ceramic amphorae used for transporting wine and olive oil, the Ministry of Culture reported in a post on its website. «A Roman-era shipwreck, likely dating between the 2nd and 1st century BC, was discovered approximately three miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, at a depth of 46 meters», wrote Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli.
«The seabed contains hundreds of amphorae, mostly of the Dressel 1A type, two lead anchors, and another structure of the same material». Giuli described it as «one of the most significant underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years». A video released by the ministry shows divers measuring and cataloging the find.
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