London — A routine oil and gas survey by an energy firm has uncovered cargo from the remains of what is believed by archaeologists to be the oldest and deepest shipwreck ever discovered in the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli archaeologists said they had retrieved intact storage jars believed to be 3,300 years old from the wreck. The amphorae, as the large jugs are known, were picked up by cameras on robotic submersibles being used by the company Energean during the survey, the scientists said.
Experts said the ship was likely sunk by a storm or an 'encounter with pirates.'Dr. Karnit Bahartan, Energean's top environmental official, told the BBC that cameras on the company's submersibles had found what initially appeared to be a 'large pile of jugs heaped on the seafloor.'Only two of the jars were brought up to the surface, a process that required special equipment to avoid damaging them or any other artifacts around them.