Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:
The French military accidentally discovered what has become the deepest shipwreck found in French waters.
After an initial sonar reading, remotely operated vehicles inspected the shipwreck, dated to the 16th century.
Experts plan to further investigate the site, including the cargo on the well-preserved deep-water wreck.
Routine sonar investigations of the French seafloor led to the accidental discovery of a 16th-century shipwreck roughly 1.5 miles off the coast of Ramatuelle. The wreck, nestled 8,200 feet underwater, is the deepest shipwreck ever discovered in France. This depth has also makes it one of the most well-preserved, free from salvaging and looters.
According to a translated statement from the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean (a French governmental agency), a routine military operation to inspect the country’s seabed led to an unusual sonar reading. A joint team from the French Navy’s Expert Center for Human Diving and Underwater Intervention and the Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research used the A18D deep-sea autonomous underwater vehicle to get an initial visual look. That led to a second remotely operated underwater vehicle checking out the site and mapping it out with detailed photography.
“The sonar detected something quite big, so we went back with the device’s camera, then again with an underwater robot to snap high-quality images,” said Thierry de la Burgade, deputy maritime prefect, according to Agence France-Presse.
What they found was a ship over 98 feet long and 23 feet wide—likely a 16th century merchant vessel with a load of ceramics on board. The color images show at least 200 earthenware pitchers now trapped under sediment. The globular pitchers—with pinched spouts and ribbon handles—include the monogram “IHS” (a Greek symbol representing Jesus Christ) and geographic pattern that may be inspired by plant life.
“These pitchers are characteristic of the well-documented Ligurian productions of the 16th century,” the agency wrote about a region that is now northern Italy. The team also found around 100 yellow plates, along with shipboard equipment of anchors, cannons, and two cauldrons.
The wreck (named Camarat 4 due to its geographical position) has sat undisturbed since its demise—at the time, there was no way for a salvage mission to have taken place at this depth, and no looting had taken place in the centuries following.
“Camarat 4 is a remarkable discovery due to its depth, its unprecedented nature, and the opportunity it offers to study a virtually intact 16th-century complex,” the team wrote.
Thanks to the cargo load, experts believe the ship was sailing southwest from what was then the Liguria region (and is now northern Italy) when it went down. “It’s the deepest shipwreck ever found in French territorial waters,” said Arnaud Schaumasse, head of the culture ministry’s underwater archaeology department, according to AFP.
The French agencies now plan to create a digital 3D model of the ship, and hope to return to the site to sample artifacts.
“This represents a unique research opportunity,” the team wrote. “Exploring at the site’s surroundings, comprehensive photogrammetry of the wreck, and targeted sampling of artifacts constitute the initial research perspective, which will be carried out with the assistance of a panel of experts.”
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