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The Ancient Egyptian Shipwreck That Showed Herodotus Got a 2,500-Year-Old Detail Right
For centuries, one of Herodotus’ most detailed passages about ancient Egypt presented historians with a problem. The Greek writer described an unusual Nile cargo boat built from short pieces of acacia wood arranged “like bricks,” yet no surviving vessel seemed to match his account. That changed when an ancient Egyptian shipwreck was examined beneath the…
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Hundreds of Dressel 1A Amphorae Found at 2,100-Year-Old Roman Shipwreck off Sicily
At a depth of 46 metres off southwestern Sicily, investigators have documented a Roman shipwreck surrounded by hundreds of amphorae, two lead anchor stocks and another structure made of lead. The site lies about three miles from Mazara del Vallo and has been provisionally dated to between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Italy’s Ministry…
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2,400-Year-Old Shipwreck with Up to 650 Amphorae Discovered off Andros
Greek underwater archaeologists have documented the remains of an ancient merchant ship carrying as many as 650 transport amphorae off the island of Andros. The vessel sank between the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC, leaving behind a dense concentration of ceramic containers at a depth of between 39 and 44 metres. The discovery…
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Ancient “Ship Graveyard” Discovered Off Coast of Ptolemais Reveals Hidden Mediterranean Trade Route
A remarkable underwater discovery off the coast of Libya is offering new clues about ancient Mediterranean trade and maritime disasters. Archaeologists working near the ancient city of Ptolemais have identified what researchers describe as an ancient “ship graveyard”—a stretch of seabed scattered with ship remains, anchors, amphorae, and cargo fragments extending more than 100 meters.…