Latest news with #ArnaudSchaumasse
The Independent
20 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Archaeologists uncover France's deepest shipwreck: ‘As if time froze'
Archaeologists have uncovered what could be a 16th-century merchant vessel's remains off the coast of southern France, marking the deepest shipwreck ever uncovered in this part of the Mediterranean. The shipwreck was found at a depth of over 2.5km during a seabed exploration mission by the French navy off the coast of Ramatuelle in March. Since the wreck site, dubbed Camarat 4, was previously unmapped, the navy decided to send submersible drones to inspect it. Then a second dive, carried out with a remotely operated vehicle, helped capture detailed high-quality images and videos of the wreck. Researchers suspect the wreck is of a 16th-century merchant vessel carrying a ceramics cargo. 'The quality of the images obtained makes it possible to detail this merchandise,' the French culture ministry's underwater archaeology department said in a statement. "It is the deepest shipwreck ever found in French territorial waters,' Arnaud Schaumasse, the head of the department, said. Pictures captured by the underwater drones reveal about 200 earthenware pitchers trapped under the sediment. Some of them carry the monogram 'IHS", the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus, as well as geometric decorations. Based on these markings, researchers suspect the ceramics were made in the northern Italian coastal region of Liguria in the 16th century. Around 100 plates and other sunken artefacts, including cannon anchors and two cauldrons, were also spotted. At this depth of over 2km, the wreckage could be preserved from any degradation and looting, researchers said. 'In these abysses, time stopped during the 16th century,' the archaeology department said. In further studies, scientists hope to create a 3D digital version of the ship and extract samples from the site to add to their understanding of 16th century navigation in the Mediterranean. 'Exploration of the surroundings of the site and samples of furniture are the first perspectives of studies, which will be carried out with the help of a college of experts, archaeologists, ceramologists, specialists in naval architecture, anchors, artillery, material culture, restorer, and conservator,' the culture ministry said. 'This site will thus be able to integrate the 16th century wreck corpus, already rich in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Underwater drone stumbles upon France's deepest shipwreck
Archaeologists have discovered by chance what they say are the remains of a 16th-century merchant ship more than 1.5 miles underwater off southern France, the deepest such find in its section of the Mediterranean or any other French waters. Archaeologists believe the ship was sailing from northern Italy loaded with ceramics and metal bars before it sunk. Despite a little modern waste dotting its sunken cargo at 8,422 feet below sea level, researchers were excited about the potential of an archaeological site largely preserved intact. "It's the deepest shipwreck ever found in French territorial waters," Arnaud Schaumasse, the head of the culture ministry's underwater archaeology department, said late Wednesday. France's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research released images of the shipwreck on social media, saying the vessel was discovered "during a military operation to explore the seabed." An underwater drone stumbled upon the sunken ship by chance in early March in waters near Saint-Tropez in southeastern France, deputy maritime prefect Thierry de la Burgade said. "The sonar detected something quite big, so we went back with the device's camera, then against with an underwater robot to snap high-quality images," he said. The drone was patrolling the seabed as part of a government project to explore and monitor France's deep-sea resources, from minerals to deep-sea internet cables. Archaeologist Marine Sadania said experts discovered 200 jugs with pinched spouts among the wreckage at the site they have dubbed "Camarat 4." Some of these jugs were marked with the monogram "HIS," the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus, or covered with plant-inspired or geometric patterns. Those details seemed to indicate the jugs hailed from the Liguria region in what is now northern Italy, she said. "Camarat 4 is a remarkable discovery for its depth, unprecedented character and the opportunity it offers to study an almost intact 16th-century wreck," France's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research said. "As if time froze" Experts also identified piles of around 100 yellow plates, two cauldrons, an anchor and six cannons. Modern waste, such as a soda can or an empty yogurt container, were spotted too. One image released by officials appeared to show an aluminum can next to an anchor. But despite this, "the site -- thanks to its depth which prevented any recovery or looting -- has remained intact, as if time froze, which is exceptional," Sadania said. Over the coming two years, she and colleagues plan to draw up a 3D digital version of the ship, as well as extract samples from the site to better study them before returning them to the public domain. According to the defense ministry in charge of exploring France's deep seas, researchers can remove an item from a shipwreck by guiding a submarine robot with pincers or arms, via a long cable linking the device to a boat on the surface. Officials said further analysis will be carried out by ceramic experts, archaeologists and specialists in naval architecture. The deepest French authorities had found a sunken vessel until now was 2.3 kilometers under sea level off the southern city of Toulon in 2019. The wreckage belonged to La Minerve, a French submarine that plunged to its demise in 1968 with 52 navy crew on board, only four minutes after the start of a routine assignment. Video shows Air India plane crashing in Ahmedabad Air India plane crashes shortly after takeoff, carrying more than 240 people An accused woman skips her pedicure, kills her ex-husband
CBS News
a day ago
- Science
- CBS News
Underwater military drone accidentally stumbles upon deepest shipwreck ever found off France: "As if time froze"
What technology could change the way we learn about shipwrecks What technology could change the way we learn about shipwrecks What technology could change the way we learn about shipwrecks Archaeologists have discovered by chance what they say are the remains of a 16th-century merchant ship more than 1.5 miles underwater off southern France, the deepest such find in its section of the Mediterranean or any other French waters. Archaeologists believe the ship was sailing from northern Italy loaded with ceramics and metal bars before it sunk. Despite a little modern waste dotting its sunken cargo at 8,422 feet below sea level, researchers were excited about the potential of an archaeological site largely preserved intact. "It's the deepest shipwreck ever found in French territorial waters," Arnaud Schaumasse, the head of the culture ministry's underwater archaeology department, said late Wednesday. France's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research released images of the shipwreck on social media, saying the vessel was discovered "during a military operation to explore the seabed." Archaeologists say they discovered by chance what they say are the remains of a 16th-century merchant ship more than 1.5 miles underwater off southern France. National Navy via France's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research An underwater drone stumbled upon the sunken ship by chance in early March in waters near Saint-Tropez in southeastern France, deputy maritime prefect Thierry de la Burgade said. "The sonar detected something quite big, so we went back with the device's camera, then against with an underwater robot to snap high-quality images," he said. The drone was patrolling the seabed as part of a government project to explore and monitor France's deep-sea resources, from minerals to deep-sea internet cables. Archaeologist Marine Sadania said experts discovered 200 jugs with pinched spouts among the wreckage at the site they have dubbed "Camarat 4." Some of these jugs were marked with the monogram "HIS," the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus, or covered with plant-inspired or geometric patterns. Those details seemed to indicate the jugs hailed from the Liguria region in what is now northern Italy, she said. "Camarat 4 is a remarkable discovery for its depth, unprecedented character and the opportunity it offers to study an almost intact 16th-century wreck," France's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research said. "As if time froze" Experts also identified piles of around 100 yellow plates, two cauldrons, an anchor and six cannons. Modern waste, such as a soda can or an empty yogurt container, were spotted too. One image released by officials appeared to show an aluminum can next to an anchor. Archaeologists say they discovered by chance what they say are the remains of a 16th-century merchant ship more than 1.5 miles underwater off southern France. National Navy via France's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research But despite this, "the site -- thanks to its depth which prevented any recovery or looting -- has remained intact, as if time froze, which is exceptional," Sadania said. Over the coming two years, she and colleagues plan to draw up a 3D digital version of the ship, as well as extract samples from the site to better study them before returning them to the public domain. According to the defense ministry in charge of exploring France's deep seas, researchers can remove an item from a shipwreck by guiding a submarine robot with pincers or arms, via a long cable linking the device to a boat on the surface. Officials said further analysis will be carried out by ceramic experts, archaeologists and specialists in naval architecture. The deepest French authorities had found a sunken vessel until now was 2.3 kilometers under sea level off the southern city of Toulon in 2019. The wreckage belonged to La Minerve, a French submarine that plunged to its demise in 1968 with 52 navy crew on board, only four minutes after the start of a routine assignment.
Local France
2 days ago
- General
- Local France
Archaeologists find France's deepest shipwreck
Archaeologists believe the ship was sailing from northern Italy loaded with ceramics and metal bars before it sunk. Despite a little modern household waste dotting its sunken cargo at 2,567 metres below sea level, they were excited about the potential of an archaeological site largely preserved intact. "It's the deepest shipwreck ever found in French territorial waters," Arnaud Schaumasse, the head of the culture ministry's underwater archaeology department, said late Wednesday. An underwater drone stumbled upon the sunken ship by chance in early March in waters near Saint-Tropez in southeastern France, deputy maritime prefect Thierry de la Burgade said. "The sonar detected something quite big, so we went back with the device's camera, then against with an underwater robot to snap high-quality images," he said. Advertisement The drone was patrolling the seabed as part of a government project to explore and monitor France's deep-sea resources, from minerals to deep-sea internet cables. Archaeologist Marine Sadania said experts discovered 200 jugs with pinched spouts among the wreckage at the site they have dubbed "Camarat 4". Some of these jugs were marked with the monogram "IHS", the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus, or covered with plant-inspired or geometric patterns. Those details seemed to indicate the jugs hailed from the Liguria region in what is now northern Italy, she said. 'As if time froze' Experts also identified piles of around 100 yellow plates, two cauldrons, an anchor and six cannons. Modern waste, such as a soda can or an empty yoghurt pot, were spotted too. But despite this, "the site -- thanks to its depth which prevented any recovery or looting -- has remained intact, as if time froze, which is exceptional," Sadania said. Over the coming two years, she and colleagues plan to draw up a 3D digital version of the ship, as well as extract samples from the site to better study them before returning them to the public domain. Advertisement According to the defence ministry in charge of exploring France's deep seas, researchers can remove an item from a shipwreck by guiding a submarine robot with pincers or arms, via a long cable linking the device to a boat on the surface. The deepest French authorities had found a sunken vessel until now was 2.3 kilometres under sea level off the southern city of Toulon in 2019. The wreckage belonged to La Minerve, a French submarine that plunged to its demise in 1968 with 52 navy crew on board, four minutes only after the start of a routine assignment.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists find France's deepest shipwreck
Archaeologists have discovered what they say are the remains of a 16th-century merchant ship more than 2.5 kilometres underwater off southern France, the deepest such find in its section of the Mediterranean or any other French waters. Archaeologists believe the ship was sailing from northern Italy loaded with ceramics and metal bars before it sunk. Despite a little modern household waste dotting its sunken cargo at 2,567 metres (more than 1.5 miles) below sea level, they were excited about the potential of an archaeological site largely preserved intact. "It's the deepest shipwreck ever found in French territorial waters," Arnaud Schaumasse, the head of the culture ministry's underwater archaeology department, said late Wednesday. An underwater drone stumbled upon the sunken ship by chance in early March in waters near Saint-Tropez in southeastern France, deputy maritime prefect Thierry de la Burgade said. "The sonar detected something quite big, so we went back with the device's camera, then against with an underwater robot to snap high-quality images," he said. The drone was patrolling the seabed as part of a government project to explore and monitor France's deep-sea resources, from minerals to deep-sea internet cables. Archaeologist Marine Sadania said experts discovered 200 jugs with pinched spouts among the wreckage at the site they have dubbed "Camarat 4". Some of these jugs were marked with the monogram "IHS", the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus, or covered with plant-inspired or geometric patterns. Those details seemed to indicate the jugs hailed from the Liguria region in what is now northern Italy, she said. - 'As if time froze' - Experts also identified piles of around 100 yellow plates, two cauldrons, an anchor and six cannons. Modern waste, such as a soda can or an empty yoghurt pot, were spotted too. But despite this, "the site -- thanks to its depth which prevented any recovery or looting -- has remained intact, as if time froze, which is exceptional," Sadania said. Over the coming two years, she and colleagues plan to draw up a 3D digital version of the ship, as well as extract samples from the site to better study them before returning them to the public domain. According to the defence ministry in charge of exploring France's deep seas, researchers can remove an item from a shipwreck by guiding a submarine robot with pincers or arms, via a long cable linking the device to a boat on the surface. The deepest French authorities had found a sunken vessel until now was 2.3 kilometres under sea level off the southern city of Toulon in 2019. The wreckage belonged to La Minerve, a French submarine that plunged to its demise in 1968 with 52 navy crew on board, four minutes only after the start of a routine assignment. vwm-ah/sjw/giv
