Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Underwater archaeologists report they have discovered the remains of an ancient sunken ship at a site in the Mediterranean Sea, roughly 650 meters from the beach of el-Alamein, Egypt.
Image credit: Supreme Council of Antiquities
The find was made as part of the archaeological mission carried out by the Central Department of Sunken Antiquities at the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt. At the site of the 2,300-year-old submerged vessel, scientists also found several ancient jars.
In a press statement, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, explained that Alamein was of commercial importance on the northern coast in the third century BC, with many commercial ports there.
The underwater discovery is of scientific importance and offers new evidence of the region’s commercial, economic, and tourism status.
Image credit: Supreme Council of Antiquities
The head of the Egyptian antiquities sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Ayman Ashmawy, said that remains of the sunken ship, together with the hundreds of amphoras, were found pivoted on the edge of an island that had drowned in the sea. The ship’s hull had probably hit the tip of the drowned island, causing the ship to sink. The amphoras, he explained, which came from Rhodes, were used in ancient times for storage and transport of wine.
Image credit: Supreme Council of Antiquities
During the Greek and Roman eras, some 30 villages, towns, and ports existed on the north coast of Egypt. They were ports of call for ships from North Africa and southern Europe to Alexandria. Cargoes included wine, olives, and grain.
Image credit: Supreme Council of Antiquities
Image credit: Supreme Council of Antiquities
The Supreme Council of Antiquities says a science team specializing in underwater archaeology is now present at the site carrying out a survey to determine the find’s historical and archeological significance. The mission has documented the finds in 3D imaging and the next step is to secure the ancient objects.
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“We are now studying how to preserve them or remove them from the site,” Islam Selim, head of the Central Department of Sunken Antiquities, said.
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff
