“Graveyard” of Roman Ships Found

Sonar studies have found the remains of five sunken Roman ships, leading the site to be labelled a “graveyard” by Tim Gambin, Head of Archaeology for the Aurora Trust: "The ships appear to have been heading for safe anchorage, but they never made it…So in a relatively small area we have five wrecks...a graveyard of ships." The vessels date from the first century BCE to the fifth century CE and were used for trade. Their cargo of metal ingots, fish sauce and wine are still on the sea floor – Reuters has a nice picture – but there will be problems if archaeologists don’t act quickly, as Tim explains: "There is a race against time…In the next 10 years, there will be an explosion in mixed-gas diving and these sites will be accessible to ordinary treasure hunters" who have previously been kept away by the ships’ depth.