A 16th-century trading vessel has been discovered by researchers using an underwater drone at a depth of 2,567 meters. This marks the deepest find of its kind in French territorial waters, noted Arnaud Choma, head of the underwater archaeology department at the French Ministry of Culture.
What Did the Researchers Report?
As confirmed by Deputy Maritime Prefect Thierry de la Burgade, the sunken ship was accidentally stumbled upon by an underwater drone patrolling the seabed as part of a government project aimed at exploring and monitoring France’s deep-sea resources.
According to researchers from the underwater archaeology department who studied the find, “time seems to have stood still in the 16th century.” The team believes that the 30-meter-long and 7-meter-wide ship was coming from northern Italy, loaded with ceramics and metal rods. Thanks to the significant depth, the wreckage and its sunken cargo have been well-preserved, as reported by Science Alert.
Archaeologist Marine Sadanía reported that at the wreck site, which researchers have dubbed “Kamarat 4,” they found 200 faience jugs with pointed spouts. Some of these vessels were marked with the monogram IHS (the first letters of the Greek spelling of Jesus’ name) or adorned with floral and geometric patterns. According to the scientist, these details indicate that the jugs traveled from the Liguria region (modern-day northern Italy).
Experts also discovered about a hundred plates, two cauldrons, an anchor, and six cannons. Nearby, the team noticed piles of modern debris, such as soda cans and plastic cups. Despite this, the discovery site has remained untouched and unplundered for centuries due to its remarkable depth, which is an exceptional case, Sadanía stated.
Over the next two years, the team plans to create a three-dimensional digital model of the ship and recover artifacts from the seabed for detailed study.
The deepest sunken vessel previously discovered by French archaeologists (in 2019) lay at a depth of 2.3 kilometers near the southern city of Toulon. The wreck belonged to the French submarine La Minerve, which sank in 1968 with 52 crew members on board just four minutes after beginning its latest mission.