A Roman trading ship from the time of the Caesars has been discovered off the coast of Italy

A Roman trading ship from the time of the Caesars has been discovered off the coast of Italy, reportedly in such good condition that some of the food may still be preserved inside the storage jars.

Following up on a tip from local fishermen, police divers used a remotely operated vehicle to locate the ship, which was preserved within layers of mud at a depth of 230 feet (70 meters) in the waters near the port city of Genoa. The ship is thought to date back to sometime between the 1st century B.C. and the 2nd century — when Julius Caesar and his imperial heirs held sway in Rome.

Discovery News' Rossella Lorenzi reports that the ship sank on a trade route between Spain and central Italy with a cargo of more than 200 jars, known as amphorae. Some of the jars were caught in fishing nets, which led to the underwater search. Tests indicated that the jars contained pickled fish, grain, wine and oil.
"There are some broken jars around the wreck, but we believe that most of the amphorae inside the ship are still sealed and food-filled," Discovery News quotes Lt. Col. Francesco Schilardi of the police-diving unit as saying.


Police are guarding the site while archaeologists decide what to do with the wreck.