Underwater archaeologists have discovered thousands of luxury ceramic vessels in a 2,100-year-old shipwreck off the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye.
The shipwreck is located off Adrasan in Antalya Province, where underwater excavations have been conducted since 2025.
According to Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, archaeologists have recovered thousands of ceramic artefacts from the wreck, representing 122 different forms and sizes of plates, bowls and trays.
The main cargo consists of tableware believed to have been manufactured at Rhosus, an ancient settlement corresponding to the modern district of Arsuz in Hatay Province.
Examples recovered from the wreck include serving dishes for nuts, soup bowls, fish plates and trays of varying sizes. Such ceramics were considered desirable commodities in the Roman world and were traded as luxury tableware throughout the Mediterranean.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Türkiye’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, said: “The 122 different forms and sizes of plates, bowls and trays reveal the luxury dining culture of the period.”
Archaeologists have also identified amphorae thought to have been produced on several Aegean islands, indicating that the vessel was transporting goods originating from multiple production centres.
Luxury ceramics of Rhosus
Rhosus was an important coastal settlement in the ancient region of Cilicia and was connected to extensive maritime trading networks across the eastern Mediterranean.
Evidence for the reputation of its ceramics can also be found in Roman literary sources.
In 50 BC, the Roman statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero referred to ceramic vessels from Rhosus in correspondence with his friend Titus Pomponius Atticus.
According to the ministry, Cicero indicated that he had ordered vessels from Rhosus for Atticus, suggesting that ceramics manufactured in the region were known and valued among consumers in the Roman world.
The discovery of a substantial cargo of Rhosus tableware at Adrasan provides archaeological evidence for the movement of these products across the Mediterranean during the 1st century BC.
Remarkable state of preservation
Many of the ceramic vessels have survived in an unusually good condition because of the way they were prepared for transportation.
The tableware had been placed inside wooden crates, with clay packed between individual pieces to protect them from damage during the voyage.
When the vessel sank, this protective material appears to have cushioned the ceramics and prevented many of them from breaking.
Ersoy said the artefacts preserve important evidence of Anatolian manufacturing expertise and the commercial history of the Mediterranean.
Merchant vessel was likely sailing towards Italy
Coins originating from Antioch and dating to the 1st century BC have also been recovered from the wreck, helping archaeologists establish a chronology for the vessel’s final voyage.
The evidence suggests that the ship formed part of a maritime trading network connecting Antioch and the Anatolian coast with the Aegean, Greece and Italy during the middle of the 1st century BC.
Researchers believe that the vessel departed from Rhosus and was likely transporting its cargo towards Rome when it encountered a storm.
The ship is thought to have struck a shallow area before sinking off Adrasan, where its cargo remained on the seabed for approximately 2,100 years.
The wreck now lies at a depth of between 42 and 55 metres. Underwater archaeologists are continuing to investigate the site with the assistance of robotic equipment, with further discoveries expected to provide new information about ancient Mediterranean shipping, commercial networks and the international trade in luxury Roman-era tableware.
Sources : AA
