An ancient Roman shipwreck believed to be more than 2,000 years old was discovered in Sicily — along with hundreds of remarkably intact clay jars that may have once carried wine, olive oil and grain.
Fisherman and diver Giacomo de Mola discovered what he called an “underwater museum” about three miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo.
The world champion spearfisher was exploring the area when his sonic radar picked up what he thought was a rock 150 feet below the surface.
But when he got closer, he discovered hundreds of amphorae — ancient two-handled clay jars — scattered across a roughly 6-foot-by-70-foot area of seabed along with two large lead anchor stocks and a lead pipe.
De Mola and his fellow diver and friend Igor Bisulli, alerted Italian authorities, who confirmed it to be the remnants of a shipwreck that sank during the first or second century B.C., according to the CBC.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli described it as “one of the most significant underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years.”
“The sea continues to bring back precious fragments of our history, and the Mazara del Vallo wreck speaks to us of the people, the routes, and the exchanges that made the Mediterranean a crossroads of civilizations.”
A still-awestruck de Mola gushed in an Instagram post, “This is, without a doubt, the most incredible discovery of my life … A Roman ship slumbering in the silence of the Mediterranean.”
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