y Greek in origin, it is the deepest ancient ship ever discovered” (Broad 1). Members of the discovery crew believe the ship may have been a Hellenistic trade ship, transporting wine from Rhodes to Alexandria.
The above find was accidental as the crew that discovered this bed of wreck sites was on mission to discover a lost submarine. A robot tethered by a cable revealed with its lighting that thousands of clay jugs or amphorae were lying on the ocean floor. The Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the Nauticos Corporation worked together on the find. As one archaeologist notes “If the wrecks turn out to span many generations or centuries, they will provide hard evidence of a trade route for sustained ancient trade across the open sea” (Broad 3).
The above find has invigorated archaeologists who believe the enormous number of artifacts at this site will provide a great deal of new and accurate information about the era and its cultures. For example, another archaeologist notes that “If the wrecks are all from the same general period, they may provide detailed information about long-distance trade over open water at a specific moment in history” (Theodoulou 7). Large clay jugs, anchors from other ships, boat pieces, dinnerware, cooking utensils and other items appear to be among the debris at this find.
The discovery of the Fiery Dragon and the Adventure Galley also have the potential to inform archaeologists and others about another culture and era in history – pirates. An old crew testimonial from Captain Kidd’s trial alerted explorers to a possible sea site that might be the location of a shipwreck. French maps were used to further pinpoint and explore the location. The search crew made three separate trips to the alleged sandbar where the Galley sank in 1698, but instead of finding Kidd’s ship they came across the Fiery Dragon “Filled with Chinese porcelain and statuary, and held 11 gold coins...