22 ancient shipwrecks have been discovered around the Greek archipelago!

Scientists exploring the waters around the Greek archipelago of Furni, located in the Aegean Sea near Turkey, have discovered a total of 22 ancient shipwrecks! Some of the vessels are as much as 2,500 years old! The search sites were selected based on information passed down through generations of fishermen and sponge fishermen who repeatedly excavated various artefacts in them.

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The researchers began their work last month and the results and the number of objects found far exceeded their expectations. Already during their first dive, the team of archaeologists came across the remains of a Late Roman period vessel, lying in a relatively shallow area for the day.

During the next 5 days of the expedition, the researchers located 9 more wrecks, and during the next day another 6! In total, 22 vessels were located and explored during the 13-day expedition. Interestingly, the wrecks, which are up to 2,500 years old, had never been properly explored and documented before.

“I think we were all in shock. We were expecting 3-4 wrecks and we would have been completely satisfied with that.” – Peter Campbell deputy project manager said.

After such abundant fishing it is hard not to ask the key question – how many more magnificent and valuable wrecks lie on the bottom in this area? The expedition area covered only 44 km², which is about 5% of the coastline of the entire archipelago!

The excavated artefacts range in date from 700-480 BC to the late medieval period around the 16th century. The shallowest wreck rests at a depth of 3m, while the deepest wreck lay on the bottom at around 55m.

Source: livescience.com