Italian authorities have uncovered a 2,100-year-old Roman shipwreck near Mazara del Vallo, Sicily, following a tip from fishers. The Carabinieri cultural heritage protection squad conducted the investigation with assistance from divers and underwater cameras, locating the vessel at a depth of approximately 46 metres.
The wreck, measuring roughly 21 metres in length and 6 metres in width, contained about 500 amphorae—two-handled ceramic vessels with narrow necks that were predominantly used for transporting wine. Most of the cargo consisted of Dressel 1A amphorae, which are particularly valuable to archaeologists because they help reconstruct commercial networks linking Italy with other Mediterranean regions during the second and first centuries BC. Italy’s culture minister Alessandro Giuli characterized the discovery as one of the most important underwater archaeological findings in recent years.
Diver Giacomo De Mola, one of the first people to examine the wreck in nearly 20 centuries, described the emotional impact of encountering the site. The upcoming research phase, led by Sicily’s superintendency of the sea, will focus on determining the wreck’s precise date, the origin and destination of its cargo, and assessing the condition of surviving materials. Officials have designated the site as having exceptional archaeological significance and plan to implement protective measures.
This discovery represents part of a broader pattern of significant Roman vessel finds in Italian waters. A 2021 discovery off Palermo contained wine amphorae at a depth of 92 metres, while a 2013 find off Liguria yielded an nearly intact vessel with valuable amphorae. The waters surrounding Sicily are considered among the Mediterranean’s richest areas for underwater archaeology, given the island’s strategic position along ancient maritime routes connecting Greece, the Middle East, north Africa, and Europe.
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