{"id":7037359,"date":"2026-08-11T02:24:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T02:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/off-the-coast-of-sicily-divers-discovered-a-roman-era-shipwreck-with-hundreds-of-amphorae-ancient-jars-frequently-used-to-hold-wine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T02:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T02:24:32","slug":"off-the-coast-of-sicily-divers-discovered-a-roman-era-shipwreck-with-hundreds-of-amphorae-ancient-jars-frequently-used-to-hold-wine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7037359","title":{"rendered":"Off the Coast of Sicily, Divers Discovered a Roman-Era Shipwreck With Hundreds of Amphorae, Ancient Jars Frequently Used to Hold Wine"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n

The site could offer fresh insights into Mediterranean trade routes more than 2,000 years ago<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n \"Sarah\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n

Sarah Kuta<\/a><\/p>\n

| Daily Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\"amphorae\"
\n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\n

Amphorae from the\u00a0Macquarie University history museum
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

123Ashles123 via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fisherman and free-diver Giacomo De Mola<\/a> was using sonar technology to scan the seafloor off the southwest coast of Sicily when he spotted something unusual beneath the waves. De Mola, who was out exploring with his friend Igor Bisulli, decided to dive in for a closer look.<\/p>\n

At first, he thought the sonar might have picked up a large rock. \u201cI say, \u2018Ah, OK, a rock, but this is a strange rock\u2014what is this?\u2019\u201d De Mola tells the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation<\/a>\u2019s Megan Williams. \u201cAnd then I see [all this] geometrical stuff and I say, \u2018No, no this is definitely not a rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he dove closer to the seafloor, De Mola finally understood what he was looking at: a huge pile of ceramic jugs with slender necks and handles.<\/p>\n

De Mola and Bisulli alerted Italian authorities, who have now identified the discovery as a Roman-era shipwreck that sank sometime during the first or second century B.C.E. It\u2019s submerged roughly 150 feet deep about three miles from the modern-day city of Mazara del Vallo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hard to describe the feeling of being among the first humans in nearly 20 centuries to see that place again,\u201d De Mola wrote in a social media post, as translated by USA Today<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Christopher Cann. \u201cThis is, without a doubt, the most incredible discovery of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The ceramic jugs are amphorae<\/a>, which historians believe were used primarily for transporting wine. Most appear to be Dressel 1A amphorae, a type associated with the late Roman period, while others are North African in style. Still others appear to be older Neo-Punic jugs.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re piled atop each other nearly 7 feet high, forming a mound that measures roughly 66 feet long by 20 feet wide. Two large lead anchor stocks and a lead pipe were also discovered nearby.<\/p>\n

Alessandro Giuli, Italy\u2019s culture minister, described the find as \u201cone of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years,\u201d according to a statement, reports CNN<\/a>\u2019s Barbie Latza Nadeau.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sea continues to bring us precious fragments of our history, and the Mazara del Vallo shipwreck tells us about the people, the routes and the exchanges that made the Mediterranean a crossroads of civilizations,\u201d Giuli added. \u201cResearch will continue to unravel its history and deliver it to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n