Somewhere between 138 and 180 feet down, off the town of Adrasan on Turkey’s southern coast, lies a merchant ship that never made its delivery. Smithsonian Magazine reports that its cargo of ceramic tableware has survived more than two thousand years on the seabed in remarkably good condition.
A team from Akdeniz University, led by underwater archaeologist Hakan Öniz, found the wreck during a survey in 2023 and has been excavating since 2025, now with the help of underwater robots. The thousands of pieces recovered so far fall into 122 different types, including plates, bowls and trays made for particular foods such as nuts, fish and soup. Coins on board date the sinking to the first century BC.
The dishes were probably made in Rhosus, today’s Arsuz, a town whose pottery Cicero praised in a letter. The potters packed clay between the pieces before crating them, which is why so many came through intact. Researchers think the ship was bound for Rome, making it a rare snapshot of everyday trade across the ancient Mediterranean.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine