Using advanced autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), marine archaeologists have located a 2,000-year-old Roman merchant vessel sitting perfectly upright 1,500 meters below the surface of the Black Sea. Due to the total absence of oxygen in the lower depths, the ship's wooden hull, masts, and even the rigging remain in a state of near-perfect preservation. This find is being hailed as the most complete Roman shipwreck ever documented in this region.
Initial sonar scans and high-definition video feeds show a cargo hold brimming with Dressel 20 amphorae and charred remains of grain sacks. Researchers believe the vessel was part of the vital trade network supplying the Roman frontier provinces with wheat from the Crimean Peninsula. The team plans to use robotic arms to retrieve small organic samples and one of the amphorae to determine the exact origin and variety of the grain carried on board.