A new era in maritime archeology has begun with the major discovery of a French Navy-controlled shipwreck site at a depth of 2567 meters off the coast of Ramatuelle in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the official Préfet Maritime de la Méditerranée report, the ship – called Camaret 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 onboard. Scientists working on this project through the Department of Research into Archeology of Underwater Shipwrecks (DRASSM) believe that the site is like a scientific ‘time capsule’ as it has six cannons and approximately 200 ceramic containers that have remained incredibly intact due to the extreme pressure and absence of oxygen generated from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. Artefacts from this ancient site will provide an extraordinary glimpse of the trade in goods during the Renaissance.
A6K how underwater drone Mapped the ocean floor in complete darkness
The discovery was made using the A6K autonomous underwater drone, which can endure abyssal zone capability, and the French Navy’s CEPHISMER team.Operational use of the A6K uses side-scan sonar and HD cameras to see in complete darkness, so is able to take hours of video, map the ocean floor and identify what was later determined to be a 16th century hull, unlike humans, who cannot go to such depths.Finding a shipwreck at a depth of 2,567 meters is more than a technical achievement; This represents a level of achievement that most standard submersibles cannot achieve. It was discovered by CEPHISMER with the A6K, an advanced autonomous underwater vehicle/drone (AUV) designed to create high-resolution maps of the ocean’s abyssal zone, where pressure is approximately 250 times greater than sea level. Using sophisticated sonar and photogrammetry, the A6K provided high-definition images to help archaeologists identify the 30-meter hull in complete darkness.
Why did France’s deepest shipwreck remain intact?
French officials have called the wreckage of Camaret 4 a scientifically important ‘time capsule’ because it is in excellent condition. In the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, the water temperature remains constant, and there is no oxygen, meaning that specific xylophagous organisms that eat wood (for example, Shipworms) cannot survive there. So, the ship’s 16th-century woodwork is in excellent condition, and the cargo – which includes piles of about 200 ceramics and plates – looks exactly as it did when the ship sank 500 years ago.
Searching for religious clues in depth
New evidence and clues about the ship’s origin have developed through high-resolution photogrammetric mapping conducted by the French Navy. Ceramics found at the site of the shipwreck, many containing the IHS monogram (the symbol of Jesus Christ), indicate that the ship was carrying goods to or from Christ-related organizations and likely came from the northern Italian Ligurian coast.In addition, the merchant ship was massively armed with six breech-loading bronze cannons and used a very large anchor and two heavy bronze cauldrons to secure her valuable cargo against 16th-century Mediterranean privateers. All these still remain in place on the sea floor.