Italian authorities uncovered an ancient treasure off the coast of Apulia in the Ionian Sea in June, but kept the discovery a secret until recently.
The Guardia di Finanza, a militarized police force for financial matters, told Fox News officials they found a Roman merchant shipwreck with a cargo of amphorae when they were conducting routine maritime patrols, the outlet reported Monday.
The ship dates to about 284 A.D. through 641 A.D.
“The ship’s amphorae were designed to transport garum, a fermented fish sauce widely used as a condiment in ancient Rome, according to local outlet Giornale d’Italia,” the Fox article read.
Amphorae are ceramic jars or vases, and the BBC noted the fish sauce was often used in Roman kitchens and traded abroad.
A photo shows a diver with one of the amphorae and officials with their discovery:
“Researchers plan to build a 3D digital model of the ship and its cargo, so that the ship can be studied without disturbing it,” the BBC report said.
The shipwreck’s location will remain a secret to prevent thieves from targeting it and to preserve it for further research.
“Officials said the wreck is exceptionally well preserved, with parts of the hull still intact and the items it was carrying mostly undamaged,” per the BBC.
The news comes after several other treasures were found around the world. In 2024, divers off the Swedish coast found an 1800s shipwreck carrying luxury goods that included Champagne, the Associated Press (AP) reported at the time.
“They believe the precious goods could have been on the way to the royal table in Stockholm or the Russian tsar’s residence in St. Petersburg when the ship sank sometime in the second half of the 19th century, according to the leader of the team, Tomasz Stachura,” the article read.
The following year, a crew in Florida discovered $1 million worth of treasure left at the site of a 310-year-old shipwreck, and in January, a metal detectorist in Australia found a rare bronze coin at a historic site in Victoria, per Breitbart News.
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