Navy Researchers Scanned the Seafloor and Tracked a Ping. Then They Found a Staggering 500-Year-Old Shipwreck.
Yahoo • • world
Key Points:
- The French military accidentally discovered the deepest shipwreck in French waters, located about 1.5 miles off the coast of Ramatuelle at a depth of 8,200 feet.
- The shipwreck, named Camarat 4, dates back to the 16th century and is believed to be a merchant vessel carrying ceramics, including over 200 earthenware pitchers and around 100 yellow plates, likely from the Liguria region of northern Italy.
- The wreck is exceptionally well-preserved due to its great depth, which prevented salvage or looting since it sank, offering a rare opportunity to study an intact 16th-century ship and its cargo.
- French naval and archaeological teams used remotely operated vehicles to inspect and photograph the site, and plan to create a 3D digital model and conduct further artifact sampling with expert assistance.
- Officials emphasize the significance of the find for underwater archaeology and intend to continue research to better understand the ship’s history and contents.
