Divers find Roman artifacts off Slovenia — revealing the existence of an ancient port

While scouring the murky waters off the coast of Slovenia, divers discovered a trove of ancient artifacts.

Dating back over a thousand years, the artifacts indicate the presence of Romans in the region.

The discovery is the culmination of multiple excavations undertaken along Slovenia’s roughly 30-mile coastline between 2017 and 2024, according to a news release from the Institute for Underwater Archaeology.

Photos posted by officials depict the objects embedded in a Roman-era layer of the seafloor, which was obscured by cloudy water.

Among the objects found were a large number of ceramic fragments — most of which appeared to be imported vessels. These included amphorae, a type of tall and narrow storage container, as well as kitchenware and tableware.

Elements of a ship were also unearthed, including part of a keel, two masts and a series of wooden stakes.

These parts were dated to between the third and fourth centuries A.D., according to MMC RTV, a Slovenian news site, which added that finds were extremely rare.

The artifacts indicate that a small port existed in the area during late antiquity, officials said. It would have been fitted with a mooring and a wooden structure, which was perhaps used for coastal communication.

Now, further analyses will be conducted to verify the findings, officials said.

Two other Roman-era sites have been discovered nearby, one of which was first explored in 1998 and another in 2004 and 2005, according to MMC RTV.

Google Translate was used to translate a news release from Slovenia’s Institute for Underwater Archaeology and an article from MMC RTV.

This story was originally published March 4, 2024 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Divers find Roman artifacts off Slovenia — revealing the existence of an ancient port."