‘Graveyard’ of five ancient Roman shipwrecks discovered

ARCHAEOLOGISTS using sonar technology to scan the seabed have discovered a “graveyard” of five pristine ancient Roman shipwrecks off the small Italian island of Ventotene.

The trading vessels, dating from the first century BC to the fifth century AD, lie more than 100 metres underwater and are amongst the deepest wrecks discovered in the Mediterranean in recent years, the researchers said.

Part of an archipelago situated halfway between Rome and Naples on Italy’s west coast, Ventotene historically served as a place of shelter during rough weather in the Tyrrhenian Sea.