In Photos: 8 New Shipwrecks Discovered in Greece

Lost cargo

fourni greece shipwrecks

(Image credit: Vasilis Mentogianis)

From 2015 to 2016, underwater archaeologists identified 45 shipwrecks around Fourni in Greece. When they returned to the islands this summer, they discovered eight more wrecks. [Read the full story]Many of the wrecks hidden in the waters around Fourni had been carrying cargo across the Aegean. The oldest ones date back as early as the sixth century B.C.

Amphora field

fourni greece shipwrecks

(Image credit: Vasilis Mentogianis)

The ceramic containers that once held goods like wine, oil and salted fish now mark the spot of ancient shipwrecks.

Buried history

fourni greece shipwrecks

(Image credit: Vasilis Mentogianis)

In this photo, the divers get help from an underwater robot to clear sediment from a partially buried Roman amphora from North Africa.

Digging divers

fourni greece shipwrecks

(Image credit: Vasilis Mentogianis)

The team of underwater archaeologists who are studying Fourni’s sunken history went back to the islands this summer, primarily to map and study the wrecks they previously found.

The keys to ancient trade

fourni greece shipwrecks

(Image credit: Vasilis Mentogianis)

By studying these ancient transport containers, archaeologists could learn new information about trade routes across the Aegean.

Going to the surface

fourni greece shipwrecks

(Image credit: Vasilis Mentogianis)

A sample of amphoras and other artifacts were lifted to the surface to be cleaned of marine growth, scientifically studied and conserved.

3D Maps

fourni greece shipwrecks

(Image credit: Kotaro Yamafune)

The researchers made high-resolution maps of the wreck sites, like the site of the Roman period wreck shown here.

Megan Gannon
Live Science Contributor
Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.