Thousands of Roman glass tableware pieces were onboard a ship that supposedly sank in the Mediterranean around 1,700 years ago, a press release stated. They have now been found. Some were recovered.
In July, French and Italian researchers investigated a stretch of ocean floor between the islands of Cap Corso, France, and Italy’s Capraia. At a depth of 350 meters (1,148 feet), two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) were deployed to capture high-definition photos and video of what is believed to be a Roman shipwreck. From the site, they extracted several ancient glass specimens of the ship’s cargo.
Described as “perfectly preserved,” the fragile haul includes various glass objects such as bottles, plates, cups, bowls, and amphorae—tall, two-handled Roman or Greek jars with a narrow neck—stated a press release from the Italian Ministry of Culture. Two bronze basins were also recovered.
The joint deep-sea operation included the Ministry’s National Superintendency for Underwater Cultural Heritage and the French Ministry of Culture’s Département des Recherches Archéologiques Subaquatiques et Sous-Marine (DRASSM). An archeologist representing France’s Inrap also participated.
The shipwreck was first discovered by talented engineer and ROV innovator Guido Gay in Italian territorial waters in 2012. The sunken ship, dubbed Capo Corso 2, was initially reported to DRASSM, and French researchers immediately surveyed the site in 2013. This was followed up by a photogrammetric and mini-sampling mission in 2015.
Undoubtedly, discussions pertaining to the location of the wreck took place. In June 2016, DRASSM proposed a joint venture for exploration with the Italian Ministry of Culture. A collaboration was launched in 2022.
In July 2023, the flagship research vessel Alfred Merlin, made available by DRASSM, was deployed. The first stage of the expedition involved the photogrammetric cataloging of any human-caused disturbances at the site. Deep-sea trawling might have shifted sedimentation or the contents of the wreck itself.
Two ROVs were used to carry out the research. The new robotic prototype Arthur—the smallest and lightest ROV in its category, capable of reaching depths of 2,500 meters (8,202 feet)—would not only capture high-definition video but also ventilate or vacuum away sediment and recover objects. The second ROV, Hilarion, operated by DRASSM archaeologist Dennis Degez, would capture high-definition footage as the mission unfolded.
After the initial site inspection, Arthur commenced cleaning away deposits in certain areas to better identify artifacts. Lastly, a selection of the objects was recovered with Arthur’s delicate claw system.
“The wreck of Capo Corso 2, with its perfectly preserved cargo, constitutes a challenge for all the researchers involved who will be able to reconstruct a page of the history of trade in the Mediterranean,” the Italian Ministry of Culture stated. They will also “perfect the new technologies to explore it and study a peculiar environmental context, still not intensively investigated.”
The Roman ship, the researchers believe, must have journeyed from a port somewhere in the Middle East—possibly Lebanon or Syria—heading for the French Provençal coast. This was ascertained from the contents of the cargo.
The markedly oriental “carrot” amphorae, in particular, included a type of vessel found in Beirut as well as some of Gallic origin, the press release stated. Also in the shipment were blocks of raw glass, for manufacturing, in various sizes weighing several tons. This, as well as the quantity of the tableware pieces, helped pin down the ship’s inferred place of origin.
So far, the researchers have been able to date the shipwreck somewhere between the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd centuries AD. Capo Corso 2 is the second known Roman shipwreck containing a glass cargo like this.
Concurrently, the recent mission was the first to observe the biological ecosystems inside shipwrecks. The National Superintendency commissioned a study into the biological colonization within the seabed and on the artifacts of the cargo, which will contribute toward the matter of the site’s conservation, the press release stated.
Moving forward, further research into the cargo’s contents may produce insights into the ship’s chronology, and the route of what would be its final journey.
