The remains of an ancient sunken ship have been discovered in Mediterranean waters off the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein by an archaeological mission, the country’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry reported.
The find, which also included a number of clay jugs, dates back to the 3rd century BC. The ship is believed to have been used to ferry wines between Greece and Egypt, according to a statement by Mostafa Waziri, the Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Following preliminary examinations of the artefacts, the vessel was determined to be a merchant ship.
The government was notified of the existence of the wreck by Hussein Malik, an engineer and owner of a private marine survey company that recently conducted a survey of El Alamein's coast.
“This discovery highlights the commercial importance of the El Alamein region and Egypt’s northern coast in the third century BC, a time when there were many commercial ports in the area,” Waziri said, adding that it provides scientific evidence of Egypt’s status in the region with regards to trade and tourism.
