Scuba Divers find Italian shipwrecks and undersea city

Archaeologists have found five well-preserved Roman shipwrecks deep under the sea off a small Mediterranean island, with their cargo of vases, pots and other objects largely intact.

The Associated Press reported that the ships were found between 100 and 150 metres down off Ventotene, a tiny island off Italy's west coast between Rome and Naples.

The ships, which date from between the 1st century B.C. and the 4th century, carried amphorae as well as kitchen tools and metal and glass objects that have yet to be identified, Italy's Culture Ministry said.

The discovery is part of a new drive by archaeological officials to scan deeper levels of the sea and prevent looting of submerged treasures.

Discoveries of shipwrecks are not unusual in the Mediterranean, but these ships are far better preserved than most, which are often found scattered in fragments, said Annalisa Zarattini, the head of the ministry's office for underwater archaeology.

"It is like an underwater museum," Zarattini said.

The ships were found during explorations concluded earlier this month by the ministry and the AURORA Trust, a U.S. group that gathers maritime researchers and provides equipment to explore the sea.

Meanwhile in a report filed from Squillace, Italy, on July 24 the foundation of the ancient city of Scylletium could rest just yards offshore from the Italian town of Squillace, local officials said Friday.

Architect Alessandro Ciliberto, an amateur scuba diver, was swimming about 15 yards off the sea wall at Squillace when he found a group of stone blocks that appeared to be man-made, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The Squillace town council said the ruins may belong to the ancient seaside city of Scylletium, founded when southern Italy was a Greek colony.

Scylletium became a Roman colony in 124 BC and was the birthplace of 6th-century Roman writer and statesman Cassiodorus, who claimed Scylletium's founder was the Greek king Ulysses.