The momentous discovery of a French naval-controlled shipwreck site at a depth of 2,567 meters off the coast of La Matière in the Mediterranean has opened a new era in maritime archeology. The ship, Camarat 4, is the deepest known shipwreck in French territorial waters, according to an official report from the Mediterranean Maritime Authority. The site was mapped using an A6K autonomous underwater drone and features clear images of a large merchant ship with much of its cargo still inside. Scientists from the Department of Archaeological Research on Underwater Shipwrecks (DRASM) working on the project believe that the site is like a scientific “time capsule” as it contains six cannons and nearly 200 ceramic vessels that remain intact due to the extreme pressure and lack of oxygen created deep in the Mediterranean. The artifacts from this ancient site will provide a unique insight into the trade of goods during the Renaissance.
How about A6K underwater drone Mapping the ocean floor in complete darkness
The discovery was made using the A6K autonomous underwater drone, which is capable of withstanding the capacity of deep sea areas, and the French Navy’s CEPHISMER team.A6K’s operations used observations in complete darkness using side-scan sonar and high-definition cameras, allowing them to capture hours of video, map the seafloor, and identify objects later identified as the hulls of 16th-century ships, unlike humans, who cannot reach such depths.Finding the sunken ship at a depth of 2,567 meters is more than just a technical achievement; It represents a level of achievement unreachable by most standard submersibles. It was discovered by CEPHISMER using the A6K, an advanced autonomous underwater vehicle/unmanned aerial vehicle (AUV) designed to create high-resolution maps of the deep-sea region of the ocean, a region where pressure is approximately 250 times that of sea level. Using advanced sonar and photogrammetry technology, the A6K provided archaeologists with high-definition images that helped identify the 30-meter-long hull in complete darkness.
Why France’s deepest shipwreck remains intact
French officials have called the Kamala 4 wreckage a “time capsule” of scientific significance because of its excellent condition. Deep in the Mediterranean Sea, the water temperature remains constant and there is no oxygen, which means that typical xylophores that feed on wood, e.g. shipworms) cannot survive there. As a result, the ship’s 16th-century wooden timbers are in excellent condition, while the cargo, which consists of some 200 pieces of ceramics and stacks of plates, looks just as it did when the ship sank 500 years ago.
Discover religious clues in the depths
New evidence and clues about the ship’s origins have been obtained through high-resolution photogrammetry carried out by the French Navy. Many of the ceramics found at the site of the ship’s sinking contain the IHS monogram (a symbol of Christ), indicating that the ship may have been transporting goods between Christ-related organizations and may have come from the Ligurian coastline in northern Italy.In addition, the merchant ship was equipped with six breech-mounted bronze cannons, as well as a very large anchor and two heavy bronze cauldrons for cooking, to secure its valuable cargo from the privateers of the 16th century Mediterranean. Today, all of this remains on the ocean floor.
