Eight 2,000-year-old shipwrecks discovered under the Greek sea.

Experts have found numerous fragments and artifacts from Roman-era ships in the waters off the island of Naxos.

A team of archaeologists studies the remains on the seabed. Photo: Newsweek.

Archaeologists have discovered eight Roman shipwrecks, dating back approximately 2,000 years, at a depth of 30 meters below the surface of the sea near the Greek island of Naxos, Newsweek reported yesterday. Scientists were surprised because the wrecks were found at a relatively shallow depth, the water was very clear, and the island is a popular tourist destination.

The island of Naxos was once famous for exporting high-quality marble. During the Eastern Roman period, the southern port of Parnamos was the main operating port. The initial purpose of archaeologists when they came here was also to search for traces of this port.

However, when a local diver led the research team to two nearby reefs, they discovered ancient vessels and anchors on the first reef and several shipwrecks on the other. The number of ships may be as high as four, according to archaeologist Sven Ahrens, curator at the Oslo Naval Museum.

After finding the first four ships, researchers continued their work using underwater navigation systems and discovered four more shipwrecks along with many more ancient vessels. Besides passengers, the ships may have once carried goods such as olive oil, wine, and armor. Ahrens and his colleagues also found some building materials such as bricks, roof tiles, and a small stone mixing board which they believe was used for mixing cosmetics.

The first four ships likely date from the Hellenistic period, approximately from the 3rd century BC to 600 AD. The ships in the second group have not yet been studied, but analysis of the type of clay used to make the ancient vessels would help determine their origin.

The research team plans to dive and deploy exploration equipment to the shipwreck area in 2018. They believe that many other valuable artifacts are still preserved beneath the sea surface.

According to VNE