For thousands of years, all ships were constructed almost completely from natural materials. While wood is sometimes preserved for eons when the right conditions exist, it’s rare to find large wooden artifacts as the majority of them succumb to the ravages of time and natures relentless erosion. When an ancient artifact – particularly a significant one such as the nearly intact Roman era wreck that was discovered off the coast of Italy – is discovered, there is cause for excitement.
Fishermen Find Clues that Lead to Discovery
For many years, fishermen working off the coast of Varezze, which is a little Italian town in the province of Liguria, were finding bits and pieces of pottery in their nets. Finally, feelings of curiosity got the better of authorities and a search was initiated by local police divers.
After a surprisingly brief search, the team of divers discovered a wreck that is believed to date to sometime between the first century BCE and the first century CE. Embedded in mud that provided protection from the elements and surrounded by kelp that hid it from view while providing even more protection, the ancient ship is almost completely intact. Although relatively small and simply constructed, it is one of the best-preserved Roman-era ships to have been discovered to this date.
A Simple Ship Provides Hints About Daily Life
Thought to have travelled across trade routes connecting what is now the central coast of Italy with Spain, the ship was loaded with more than two hundred huge clay amphorae, which are believed to have contained common trade goods such as wine, oil, grain, and dried fish – ordinary foods for ordinary people. Underwater archaeologists are eagerly studying the vessel and the amphorae it contains, hoping to gain greater understanding of how commercial activity worked during the early Roman period.
Many of the amphorae are completely intact and unlike the majority of others which have been collected at Roman shipwreck sites, they still bear brightly colored decorative markings. Though some of the amphorae have been transferred to the surface for study, the majority of the large clay vessels remain with the ship, neatly stacked by workers who lived more than two thousand years ago.
While some pooh-pooh at the importance of a find such as this one, yearning instead for the discovery of an intact Carthaginian or Roman warship of the same era, or perhaps a ship containing precious treasures, it is important to note that a humble cargo ship like this one provides an important window into the daily lives of everyday people who lived long ago.
Today, the site where the ship lies has been secured, with no vessel traffic permitted nearby and no scuba diving allowed other than by archaeologists studying the wreck and its contents. Researchers believe that the wreck could be successfully raised, although there are currently no plans to bring it to the surface. For now, this ancient wreck remains lodged in the mud that protected it for so long, slowly revealing its secrets, one by one.