Treasures found in a boat stranded for two centuries in the Mediterranean

The wreck buried for more than two centuries at a depth of 75 meters, off the coast of Seyne-sur-Mer, is full of treasures dating from the 19th century. The boat ran aground between 1800 and 1850. In 2005, when Éric Alberola went on an outing with his diving club, an echo panicked his depth sounder. “He thought he fell on rock, but in fact it was a wreck,” explains Marine Sadania, archaeologist and scientific manager.

“We were looking for deep diving spots. When I came down, I went “Wow!”. It looked like a time window. There was an impressive mound of jars, lots of fish, colors… It was magnificent” tells Éric Alberola to the Nice-Matin newspaper.

It will not be until 2022 that the Department of Underwater and Underwater Archaeological Research (DRASSM) will carry out a first assessment. “In 2005, the Labor Code regulations did not allow working at a depth of more than 60 meters,” specifies Marine Sadania. Explored using a remotely operated underwater robot, numerous jars as well as three wooden jas anchors were found, allowing experts to place the shipwreck in the first half of the 19th century.

More in-depth research was scheduled for December 11 to 15, 2023 by DRASSM archaeologists, with the support of resources and personnel from the French Navy and protected by the Mediterranean maritime prefecture. They revealed that the ship was carrying a total cargo of more than 130 jars and a multitude of ceramic kitchen utensils.

“The results of the operation are very positive,” says Marine Sadania. Our goal has been achieved. We learn a little more about the packaging of goods on boats.” The maritime operations are now complete but the data will still be analyzed, in particular thanks to the raising of a large jar approximately “one meter high and 70 cm wide”.

The second objective for the DRASSM is to succeed in better dating this wreck of around fifteen meters which is similar to a tartane, to facilitate research in the archives and find precisely what it was carrying. For the moment, “we know that the loading of jars was leaving the Alpes-Maritimes towards Marseille. These jars were used to transport foodstuffs, they were found all over the world,” continues the archaeologist.

The DRASSM is currently working with several museums in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. “The idea would be to do a traveling exhibition to introduce these jars to the general public,” she says. In view of the enthusiasm surrounding this affair, Marine Sadania recalls that “the maritime site will be monitored”.