A new era in marine archeology has been opened with the major discovery of a shipwreck site controlled by the French Navy at a depth of 2,567 metres, offshore at Ramatuelle in the Mediterranean.
According to the official Préfet Maritime de la Méditerranée report, this ship, called Camarat 4, is the deepest known shipwreck in French territorial waters. The site was mapped using an A6K autonomous underwater drone, and contained clear images of a large merchant ship with much of its cargo still on board. Scientists working on this project through the Research Division of Underwater Shipwreck Archeology (DRASSM) believe that this site is like a scientific “time capsule” due to its six cannons as well as nearly 200 ceramic containers that are incredibly intact due to the extreme pressure and absence of oxygen created by the depths of the Mediterranean Sea.
Artifacts from this ancient site will provide an exceptional glimpse into merchandise trade during the Renaissance.
How A6K Underwater drone Mapping the ocean floor in complete darkness
The discovery was made using the A6K underwater drone, which has a deep-area capability, and the French Navy’s CEPHISMER team.The A6K’s operational use uses side-scan sonar and high-resolution cameras to see in complete darkness, thus being able to capture hours of video, map the seafloor, and identify objects later identified as a 16th-century structure, unlike humans, who cannot go to such depths.
Finding a shipwreck at a depth of 2,567 meters is more than just a technical achievement; It represents a level of accomplishment that most standard submarines cannot achieve. It was discovered by CEPHISMER using the A6K, an advanced autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) designed to create high-resolution maps of the abyssal region of the ocean, where the pressure is about 250 times greater than at sea level.
Using advanced sonar and photogrammetry, the A6K provided archaeologists with high-resolution images to help identify the 30-metre-tall structure in complete darkness.
Why did the deepest shipwreck in France remain intact?
French officials have referred to the Kamarat 4 wreck as a “time capsule” of scientific interest because it is in excellent condition. In the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, the water temperature remains constant, and there is no oxygen, which means that typical wood-eating organisms (e.g.
Shipworms) cannot survive there. Therefore, the ship’s 16th-century timbers are still in excellent condition, and the cargo – consisting of about 200 ceramic pieces and piles of plates – looks as it did when the ship sank 500 years ago.
Discover religious clues in depth
New clues and evidence about the ship’s origins have developed through high-resolution photographic mapping conducted by the French Navy. Ceramics found at the shipwreck site include several pieces containing the letters IHS (the symbol of Christ), suggesting that this ship may have been transporting goods to and from Christ-related organizations and may have come from the northern Italian Ligurian coast.In addition, the merchant ship was extensively armed with six stern-mounted bronze cannons, had a very large anchor and two heavy bronze cauldrons used for cooking to secure its valuable cargo against 16th-century Mediterranean pirates. All of them today are still in place at the bottom of the ocean.
