00:00 In a discovery termed exceptional, the wreckage of a 2,000-year-old sunk Roman cargo ship
00:08 has been found off the coast of Italy.
00:10 The ancient cargo ship wreckage was discovered on a seabed which is around 50 miles northwest
00:15 of the capital city of Rome.
00:17 The Roman vessel, named Capo Corso II, may have sunk while transporting glass from the
00:22 Middle East to France.
00:24 The vessel, which belongs to the 1st or 2nd century BC, contained hundreds of ancient
00:30 Roman terracotta jars named amphora, many of which were found still intact in the wreckage.
00:35 The ship, estimated to be more than 20 meters long, was discovered on a sandy seabed 160
00:41 meters below sea level.
00:43 The authorities are now working to ensure that the site is protected as hundreds of
00:47 amphora are illegally taken each year and discovered in the homes of art dealers by
00:52 Italian police.
00:54 The exceptional discovery is an important example of the shipwreck of a Roman ship facing
00:58 the perils of the sea in an attempt to reach the coast and bears witness to old maritime
01:03 trading routes, the police unit said in a statement.
01:06 The police art squad, which is in charge of protecting Italy's priceless cultural heritage,
01:11 said that the relic was found and filmed using a remotely operated robot.
01:16 They did not say whether experts will now try and recover it or its precious cargo from
01:20 the seafloor.
01:21 It is not known what the Roman jars on board would have been used for, although typically
01:26 amphora were used to transport goods such as oil, wine or fish sauce.
01:31 Such artifacts are widely found throughout the ancient eastern Mediterranean world.
01:36 The discovery of wrecked ships is not unusual.
01:39 There are said to be thousands dotted around the entire Mediterranean.
01:42 In 2018, a Greek merchant ship dating back more than 2,500 years was found lying on its
01:48 side of the Bulgarian coast and was held as officially the world's oldest known intact
01:53 shipwreck.
01:54 Also, in 2018, dozens of shipwrecks were found in the Aegean Sea dating back to the Greek,
02:00 Roman and Byzantine eras.
02:02 The coastline of Italy is teeming with underwater treasures, which are regularly patrolled by
02:07 police scuba divers to protect them from looters.
02:19 (bell chimes)
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