Divers have discovered an ancient Phoenician ship that have sunk in the waters of Malta around 700 BCE revealing some interesting cargo.

The ancient vessel was found roughly a mile off the island of Gozo, the second largest island in Malta, where the 50-foot Phoenician ship sits 400 feet beneath the surface. Researchers believe that this could be the oldest shipwreck in the Mediterranean.

Like Us on Facebook

Phoenicians hail from the western part of the Fertile Crescent where modern Lebanon and Syria are now.They were known to be a great maritime people who already possessed advanced technology when it comes to shipbuilding.They built the bireme which is a galley, an ancient warship that is man-powered by two decks of oars.

Phoenicians are also known to thrive by establishing trade around the Mediterranean, North Africa, Babylon, Italy and Sicily. They are seafaring people who navigated the Mediterranean sea trading goods with different civilizations around BCE 1550 to BCE 300.

The ancient cargo consisted of amphorae which are shipping containers usually made from clay. Vessels were designed in several different designs which suggested the ship may have visited different ports before crashing into the waves. These shipping containers are believed to be 900 years old.

Divers aso discovered around 20 grinding stones that were made out of volcanic rock and weighs about 75 pounds each.

This ancient shipwreck was discovered during the GROplan project which aimed at exploring new techniques in photogrammetery---the study of taking measurements using photography.

Funded by the French National Research Agency, researchers from the University of Malta are managing the study alongside French and American scientists.

Announcement of the discovery of the shipwreck was delayed so that researchers could further study its structure and cargo.The team is now consolidating more than 8,000 photographs of the shipwreck to gather data where they will build a 3D model of the shipwreck site.

TagsThis 2, 700 Year Old Phoenician Ship Could be the Oldest Shipwreck Ever Found, oldest shipwreck, 2700 year old ship found in malta, Malta, shipwreck malta, ancient ship malta, phoenician ship malta, oldest shipwreck in mediterranean