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3,000-Year-Old Wheat Ears Found Intact as Ritual Offerings Beneath Italy’s Lake Bolsena
Archaeologists excavating the submerged Gran Carro settlement in Italy’s Lake Bolsena have found intact ears of ancient wheat placed inside ceramic vessels as offerings more than 3,000 years ago. The unusual organic remains survived on the lakebed alongside pottery, wooden structures and traces of a settlement dating back to the Final Bronze Age. The finds…
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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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Rare 3,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Sword Discovered at Salcombe Wreck Site
A remarkably rare Bronze Age sword has been recovered from the seabed at the protected Salcombe wreck sites off the coast of Devon in south-west England. The weapon was discovered earlier this year by volunteer divers Becky Gill and Catherine Gill during archaeological investigations by the South West Maritime Archaeological Group. Initial specialist assessment dates…
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1,700-Year-Old Roman Bridge Found Beneath Switzerland’s Aare River in Solothurn
Archaeologists in Switzerland have confirmed the remains of a late Roman bridge beneath the Aare River in Solothurn, ending a long-running question about one of the most likely crossing points of ancient Salodurum. The discovery was made during underwater archaeological work carried out before the renewal of the SBB railway bridge. Divers working on behalf…
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600-Year-Old Helmets Found off Spain’s Coast Were Not Roman After All
Medieval helmets found off Spain’s coast have overturned a long-standing archaeological assumption. For decades, a group of iron helmets recovered from the seabed near Benicarló, in eastern Spain, seemed to belong to the ancient Mediterranean world. They had been found in the same underwater zone as Roman anchor stocks, amphorae and bronze helmets, so the…
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A Barrel of Medieval Iron Found Beneath the Baltic Sea May Reveal a Lost Trade Network
Medieval Iron sealed inside a wooden barrel has been recovered from the floor of the Baltic Sea, offering archaeologists a rare glimpse into the cargo that once moved through northern Europe’s maritime trade routes. The barrel was discovered off the coast of Pomerania during underwater survey work connected to the construction of Poland’s first nuclear…
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Rare 4,800-Year-Old Neolithic Axe Discovered in Lake Constance, Switzerland
A rare 4,800-year-old Neolithic axe discovered in Lake Constance, Switzerland is offering new insight into prehistoric craftsmanship and lakeside life in Central Europe. Recovered during controlled underwater excavations in Steckborn harbor, the tool stands out not only for its completeness, but for the unusually clear picture it provides of material choices and local resource use…
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2,400-Year-Old Submerged City Remains Filmed Beneath Dicle Dam in Diyarbakır
For years, the waters of the Dicle Dam have concealed what looks less like scattered ruins and more like the outline of a forgotten settlement. Now, new underwater footage has brought that hidden landscape back into view. Captured during a routine dive by search-and-rescue teams in the Eğil district of southeastern Turkey, the images reveal…