A shipwreck dating to the 5th and 4th centuries BCE has drawn archaeologists’ attention off the coast of Monasterace in southern Italy. Hidden beneath the waters of the Ionian Sea, the wreck holds a cargo of more than 300 amphorae, many of them still grouped on the seabed after over two thousand years underwater.
Researchers believe the site could help trace trade and shipping patterns in the ancient Mediterranean. Early analysis points toward links with Magna Graecia, the Greek settlements of southern Italy, especially in the production and movement of wine along the Ionian coast. The amphorae themselves offer another clue. Their shapes resemble ceramic types associated with workshops in Magna Graecia and Sicily.
