The remains of an ancient sunken ship have been discovered in Mediterranean waters off the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein by an archaeological mission, the country’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry has said.
The find, including several clay jugs (amphoras), dates back to the 3rd century BC. The ship is believed to have been used to ferry wines between Greece and Egypt, according to a statement by Mostafa Waziri, the Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Pieces of broken wood from the ship and hundreds of pottery fragments were the first items discovered at the site during a recent sweep of the coastline, according to Ayman Ashmawy, the head of the council’s Egyptian antiquities section, according to the “The National News” website.
Mr. Ashmawy said most of the jars were found on an island that had subsided below sea level, which led archaeologists to conclude that the ship most probably sank after colliding with the island.
The vessel was determined to be a merchant ship after preliminary examinations of the artifacts.
The government was notified of the existence of the wreck by Hussein Malik, an engineer and owner of a private marine survey company that recently surveyed El Alamein’s coast.
