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Man goes deep sea diving and discovers cargo from 2000-year-old shipwreck
It reportedly sank between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.
Gianella Argao
08.03.22

Archaeologists claim that several beach mansions were repaired using the cargo found on the ship. They were scattered across Taranto, along with farms and opulent mansions.

Fabio Matacchiera, a diver, history professor, and environmental activist, made a remarkable discovery while doing a recent study in Italy. A roughly 2,000-year-old Roman ship’s wreckage was found.

The ship’s cargo was also discovered.

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Youtube - Inside Edition

Under the sands of the Taranto coast and amid the rocks, in the southern area of Puglia, Southeast Italy, Matacchiera discovered several hundred tiles and other ancient items.

The ship sank between the first and fourth centuries AD, according to an analysis of the information the diver’s data provided.

Mataccheria utilized a cartographic GPS to find his way to this impeccable discovery.

It contained items used for construction.

Archaeologists claim that some coastal homes were renovated using the ship’s cargo since Taranto’s coastline is lined with luxurious beach palaces as well as rural cottages and farms.

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Youtube - Inside Edition

Coastal villas had servant quarters, porticos, reception halls with mosaic decorations, and water cisterns that served as “hot springs” and were often owned by the most affluent and influential people.

The diver found more.

Matacchiera also discovered an iron hoe with a broken spindle during his dive.

This suggests that the ship suffered significant damage prior to sinking, probably as a result of a powerful wave forcing her ashore.

Recall that before, researchers discovered a submerged ancient Greek ship close to the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It was specifically a warship in the Mediterranean See.

Scientists believe that the ship sunk after colliding with substantial blocks from the Temple of Amun.

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Youtube - Inside Edition

The temple was destroyed in the 2nd century BC. The devastation was due to a natural tragedy that struck the area. However, he found the oldest sunken ship in the world in England.

The ship’s hull included two Purbeck marble tombstones and a cooking kettle.

Several artifacts such as metal items and pottery were found as well, together with remnants of the collapsed temple.

As per research, the ship sank after the temple collapsed due to a devastating earthquake.

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Youtube - Inside Edition

The earthquake wiped out the temple.

Automated drilling drones that could be operated from the surface were used to make this discovery a success.

The group also made use of a sub-bottom profiler, which among other things analyzes and produces photographs of the ocean floor using sound waves.

According to mission leader Franck Goddio, a well-known French underwater archaeologist who found the city of Heracleion in 2000, there aren’t many archaeological specimens of warships from this time period.

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Youtube - Inside Edition

They considered themselves lucky.

He said that there are hardly any Greek ship remnants from this era, citing the sole other example as the Punic ship Marsala, whose wreck was found in western Sicily in 1971.

Preliminary investigations of the location have been able to establish that the ship’s length was around 25 meters.

However, the ship’s remnants are far from whole due to the substantial damage it incurred when it was sunk.

Check out the video below to witness Matachierra’s discovery!

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