12/16/2019 Roman shipwreck in the Mediterranean is 'biggest ever' | CNN Travel

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Biggest ever Roman shipwreck found in the Mediterranean

Julia Buckley, CNN • Published 16th December 2019

(CNN) — Two thousand years ago, this ship was crossing the Mediterranean Sea full of
its cargo of amphorae -- large terracotta pots which were used in the Roman Empire
for transporting wine and olive oil.

For some reason, it never made it to its destination.

But having languished at the bottom of the sea for around two millennia, it has now
been rediscovered by archeologists, along with its cargo, and dated to between 100

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12/16/2019 Roman shipwreck in the Mediterranean is 'biggest ever' | CNN Travel

BCE and 100 CE. And it has already been judged to be the largest classical shipwreck
ever found in the eastern Mediterranean.

The wreck of the 110-foot (35-meter) ship, along with its cargo of 6,000 amphorae,
was discovered during a sonar-equipped survey of the seabed o the coast of
Kefalonia -- one of the Ionian islands o the west coast of Greece. VIDEO

The survey was carried out by the Oceanus network of the University of Patras, using
artificial intelligence image-processing techniques. The research was funded by the
European Union Interreg program.

It is the fourth largest shipwreck from the period ever found in the entire
Mediterranean and is of "significant archaeological importance," according to George
Ferentinos from the University of Patras, who along with nine of his fellow academics
has unveiled the discovery in the Journal of Archeological Science.

"The amphorae cargo, visible on the seafloor, is in very good state of preservation and
the shipwreck has the potential to yield a wealth of information about the shipping
routes, trading, amphorae hull stowage and ship construction during the relevant
period," they wrote.

Most ships of that era were around 50 feet long, compared to this one's 110 feet.

The amphorae are in excellent condition.

Ionian Aquarium, Kefalonia

It is the fourth Roman shipwreck to be found in the area. Classical-era shipwrecks are

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