Archaeologists found well-preserved historical artifacts at the bottom of a Swiss lake not too far off the shoreline of Zurich, Switzerland.
Breitbart News reported about the a 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck in Lake Neuchâtel in Western Switzerland after aerial photography showed signs of the vessel at the bottom of the lake.
Well-preserved items included Roman gladius swords, which are described as “short-edged weapon” used by Roman legionnaires.
Other treasures included bowls, cups, and plates that would have been produced in the Swiss plateau, in a region between the Jura Mountains and the Alps.
In Roman times, the area was known as the Roman province of Helvetia.
Explorers found well-preserved wheels that are believed to be the only Roman examples of their kind found in the area.
Archeological officials said of the discovery, “The richness and diversity of this collection of goods, in an excellent state of preservation, make this discovery exceptional.”
The exploratory mission was a joint undertaking of the Cantonal Archaeology Office of Neuchâtel (OARC) along with the Octopus Foundation, and the Archaeological Service of the State of Fribourg.
“At the time, the loss must have been immense,” the Octopus Foundation said of the project. “But today, this accidental shipwreck will allow numerous archaeologists and historians to better understand the world in which the Helvetii lived, at the heart of the Roman Empire.”
“Here, the accident is providing us brand new objects that very probably will become a reference for [this] specific time period,” Julien Pfyffer, founder and president of the Octopus Foundation, told the Smithsonian Magazine.
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