In the seabed of Salento, off the coast of Santa Caterina di Nardò, an ancient wreck of great importance has been lying for over forty years. It is a burden ship, i.e. a cargo vessel, shipwrecked between the 4th and 2nd century BC (late Republican period), officially registered in the General Catalog of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture. The wreck was identified at the beginning of the 1980s during scuba diving and subsequent reconnaissance by the Superintendence. Today the wreck and the surrounding seabed could finally be cleaned and made safe, becoming a real “underwater museum”.
The vessel, approximately 23 meters long, was carrying an impressive load of Greco-Italic amphorae (a type of amphora of Magna Graecia origin, produced between the 4th and 2nd century BC), probably intended for the wine trade. The original load could perhaps have exceeded a thousand amphorae, many of which are still lying on the seabed today, together with wooden parts of the hull.
Archaeologists confirm the presence of an underwater archaeological site of great scientific value, dating back to between 400 and 100 BC, fully included among the protected submerged archaeological assets. This is not an occasional or poorly documented discovery, but a site officially recognized and studied, albeit in a fragmented way. Unfortunately, the location of the wreck is known to grave robbers (people who illegally search and dig in discovered or not yet discovered archaeological areas to steal ancient goods), who in an attempt to recover amphorae to resell, damaged several of them, breaking their necks.
This submerged heritage has been in a state of bureaucratic stalemate for a long time. Unlike similar discoveries along the Apulian coast, which have been subject to targeted protection interventions, the Santa Caterina wreck has never been integrated into a scientific recovery project. The technical complexities and the huge economic commitment required have so far precluded definitive securing of the site, leaving it vulnerable to environmental degradation and looting. Yet, its potential is enormous: the complete study of the ship could provide valuable information on Republican Rome’s trade routes, shipbuilding techniques and the economy of the ancient Mediterranean.
