A 2,400-year-old Greek trading ship has been discovered almost perfectly preserved more than 1.2 miles below the surface of the Black Sea. At 75 feet long, it is now considered the oldest intact shipwreck ever found. Its condition is raising new questions about what can survive underwater over long periods of time.
The discovery comes from the Black Sea MAP project, which has identified over 60 shipwrecks from different periods. According to the research team, these range from Roman trading vessels carrying amphorae to a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet, showing just how busy this region once was.
The project is not limited to ships. According to researchers, it also explores ancient coastlines now underwater, helping to trace how human communities adapted as sea levels gradually rose.
A Ship Frozen in Time
The wreck sits at a depth ofmore than 2 kilometers, in water that contains no oxygen. This anoxic environment stops organisms from breaking down organic material like wood, which explains why the sunken vessel is still standing after more than two millennia.
As explained by the Professor Jon Adams from the University of Southampton, seeing a ship from the Classical world preserved in such a way is something he “would never have believed possible.” The vessel’s structure has remained largely untouched, which is rarely the case for ancient wrecks.
Dozens Of Wrecks Telling The Same Story
The Black Sea MAP project has uncovered more than 60 shipwrecks, each tied to a different period. According to the team, the finds include vessels from the Roman era as well as others linked to later regional conflicts.
Taken together, these discoveries highlight just how important the Black Sea has been as a major route for trade and movement over the centuries. And with this newly found Greek ship, dating back to the Classical period, it adds yet another layer to that long and complex history.
“A ship, surviving intact, from the Classical world, lying in over 1.2 miles of water, is something I would never have believed possible,” said Professor Adams, the project’s lead researcher.
A Lost Village Beneath The Seabed
Near Ropotamo in Bulgaria, researchers also uncovered the remains of an early Bronze Age settlement. What used to be a coastal village is now buried under the seabed.
According to the project, remains of houses, hearths, and ceramics lie about 2.5 meters below the surface. As the water level rose, the area turned into a bay later used by Greek colonists, then Byzantine sailors, and eventually the Ottoman fleet.
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