A joint mission of marine archaeologists and deep-sea divers has discovered a remarkably preserved 4th-century BCE site off the coast of Chios. The find includes a collection of lead tablets that appear to be a 'Shipbuilder's Manifest,' detailing the wood types, bronze fittings, and labor costs for a fleet of triremes. This discovery provides the first direct economic data on the naval industrial complex of the late Classical period.
The excavation team, utilizing high-resolution sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), identified the tablets inside the ruins of a collapsed stone structure that likely served as a harbor-side administrative office. Alongside the lead records, the team recovered unworked timber fragments and stone-cutting tools, suggesting the site was part of a major military shipyard that was submerged during a seismic event in antiquity.