History
Off the coast of Andros, Greek underwater archaeologists have found the cargo of an ancient merchant ship. Greece’s Ministry of Culture made the announcement on July 31, 2026.
The wreck sits 39 to 44 meters down, and it’s carrying somewhere between 600 and 650 transport amphorae. Pottery pulled from the site suggests the ship went down sometime in the late fifth or early fourth century BC.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture made the announcement on July 31, 2026. Per the ministry, the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities went out to investigate after a tip from a private citizen.
Amphorae, wine trade
Amphorae were the shipping containers of the ancient world. Archaeologists have so far distinguished three types on the shipwreck: amphorae from Mende, others tied to Peparethos, and a third group known as the Solokha 2 type.
More than 650 amfora's found
Mende, on the Kassandra Peninsula in the northern Aegean, was a major trading hub. Peparethos sat on what’s now the island of Skopelos. Both places built their reputations on wine — and on shipping it out by sea.
The Solokha 2 type is murkier. It’s really a shape classification more than a known city of origin, and scholars are split on whether it traces back to the northern Aegean or the Black Sea.
Route
Having three different amphora types on board hints that this wasn’t a single producer’s shipment. More likely, the cargo was picked up piecemeal at different stops before the ship pressed on toward a bigger market.
One reasonable guess at the route: south out of the northern Aegean, maybe starting at Mende, swinging past Peparethos, and then into the waters near Andros — with Athens and Piraeus as a likely next stop, or perhaps another southern or central Aegean port
Description
Status
Research
Notably absent from the ministry’s report: any mention of surviving wooden hull. Right now, the case for the ship rests on the amphora field, that anchor fragment, and the possible ballast.
None of this is easy to study at nearly 44 meters down. Divers only get so much time on each trip, and every artifact has to be documented in place — without disturbing how it sits relative to the rest of the wreck. Eventually, the way the amphorae are arranged might reveal how they were packed into the hold, and whether the ship landed on the bottom intact or came apart on the way down.
Team
The inspection team included diving archaeologist Dionysios Evangelistis, diving conservator Angelos Tsompanidis, and seabed technician Louis Mersenier, all with the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities.