Two Roman shipwrecks were found in the deepwater off the coast of a western Greek island, according to Zeenews.com.
The shipwrecks were discovered in the sea between Corfu and Italy during a survey that covered 200 square kilometers, at a depth of 1.2 – 1.4 kilometers where a Greek-Italian gas pipeline is to be sunk.
This discovery defies the long-held theory that early shipmasters stayed in the shallow waters rather than risking by venturing into the open sea.
Shipwrecks were discovered earlier this month and are considered to be the deepest known ancient wrecks in the Mediterranean.
Head of Greece’s underwater antiquities department, Angeliki Simossi , stated that sunken ancient ships are most usually found in waters 30-40 meters deep.
She said: “There are many Roman shipwrecks, but these are in deep waters. They were not sailing close to the coast.”
Simossi also added: “The conventional theory was that, as these were small vessels up to 25 meters long, they did not have the capacity to navigate far from the coast, so that if there was a wreck they would be close enough to the coast to save the crew.”
A deep water archaeology expert at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, Brendan Foley stated that: “The Ministry of Culture’s latest discoveries are crucial hard data showing the actual patterns of ancient seafaring and commerce.”
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff, May 30, 2012