The cargo lost two millennia ago rose to the surface of a lake in Switzerland

A team of researchers discovered a cargo lost by a ship in Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland, whose age is estimated at almost 2 thousand years. This is reported by the ArtNet portal.

Divers from the Octopus Foundation, a non-profit foundation, together with specialists from the archaeological service of the canton of Fribourg, found about 600 items of ceramic dishes, tools and weapons that were perfectly preserved due to bottom sediments that were washed away due to the local water level correction program.

In November last year, studies were conducted that confirmed and estimated the location of the cargo found at a depth of 26 feet (almost 8 meters), which is close enough to the surface of the water for a two-millennium-old find. According to dendrochronology, the cargo was under water between 50 BC and 50 AD, during the beginning of the Roman Empire.

Researchers believe that the ceramics in the cargo were made shortly before immersion in water, perhaps it was intended for sale. There are no pottery stamps on the products, so it is difficult to determine the place of production of cups, dishes and bowls. Initial analysis suggests that the dishes were made in the area of the Swiss Plateau.

The founder of the Foundation considers the find unique.

"Usually objects found in the ground were used, sold, broken, discarded or buried with the dead. Here, the case presented us with perfectly preserved new items," he says.

At the same time, the ship to which this cargo belonged has not yet been found.

"My positive experience of searching for sunken boats and cargo allows us to conclude that, having got rid of a weighty cargo, sailors and Roman soldiers saved their ship," the researcher added.

At the moment, the team is keeping the location of the discovery of the antique cargo a secret. The Foundation has even developed an underwater video surveillance system. Last month, divers and archaeologists brought to the surface about 450 artifacts, experts believe that the cargo was sent to the Roman Legion, which settled on the Rhine.

As reported by EADaily, last summer off the coast of France in A sunken merchant ship of the XVI century was discovered in the Mediterranean Sea. Fragments of the vessel and its cargo were found near the commune of Ramatuelle in the Provence— Alpes— Cote d'Azur region at a depth of 2,567 meters. Thus, this find became the deepest-water wreck ever discovered in French territorial waters.