AN ancient Roman shipwreck dating back to the time of Jesus Christ has been discovered off the coast of a Greek island loaded down with jugs used to store wine.
Experts examined the amphorae - tall jugs or jars with handles and narrow necks used by the Greeks and the Romans - and were able to determine the period in which they were used. Dr George Ferentinos of the University of Patras and a team of researchers dated the wreck to between the 1st century BC and the first century AD. They found the wreck using sonar imaging to search the seabed around the island of Cephalonia, or Kefalonia, reports the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Jugs thought to have been used to carry wine were found on the Fiscardo (Image: Ionian Aquarium)
They dubbed it the Fiscardo after the nearby fishing port popular with tourists.
Dr Ferentinos said if the ship was removed from the floor of the Mediterranean in the future, researchers could get their hands on the hull which may hold more clues about its origin.
He said the Fiscardo is among the largest four shipwrecks dating from this period to have been found in the Med.
Dr Ferentinos said: “Its half-buried in the sediment, so we have high expectations that if we go to an excavation in the future, we will find part or the whole wooden hull.”
The cargo is 98 feet long, 32 feet wide and stands four feet above the seabed
Dr Ferentinos is an expert in marine geology, underwater archaeology, oceanography and human prehistory.
The top of the vessel was found to be filled with amphorae.
Experts believe up to 6,000 amphorae were on board when he ship went down.
Photomosaic of the cargo on the seafloor, obtained with sidescan sonar detection technology, is in good condition and keeps the ship’s shape.
The containers were likely carrying wine, olive oil, grains and other foodstuffs.
The goods were likely destined for trade.
Chemical analyses and DNA tests could reveal the exact contents of the jugs.
The wreckage was discovered off the coast of the Fiskardo fishing village on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, Greece
The ship is thought to measure 34m in length and 13m in width.
The dimensions indicate that it may have been among the largest ships cross the Med during the period.
It was significantly longer than the average merchant ship sailed by the Romans at that time, which was around 15-20m long.
The Fiscardo lies at a depth of 60m.
Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian islands, is an archeologist’s dream and numerous interesting discoveries have been made down through the years.
The sidescan sonar detection technology transmits high frequency sound pulses in a vertically wide fan shape from a moving vessel, which scans the seafloor
The most important find in recent decades was that of the Mycenaean Tholos tomb in the south east of the island in 1991.
The tomb was erected around 1,300 years before Jesus was born and was the burial place of kings and high ranking officials.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/
