A Roman shipwreck believed to be more than 2000 years old has been found off the coast off Sicily.It was discovered by a group of Italian divers about 4.8km off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, a city on the western coast of Sicily.According to the Italian Ministry of Culture, the ship is believed to date back to the second or first century B.C.Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has hailed the discovery as “extraordinary” as it was also found to be stocked with hundreds of ancient clay jars.He said it is “one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years”.“I congratulate the Arma dei Carabinieri, its specialised departments, the TPC Nucleo and the Superintendent of the Sea of the Sicilian Region for one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries in recent years,” he wrote in an Instagram post.“About three miles (4.8km) from the coast of Mazara del Vallo, 46 metres deep, a Roman wreck has been identified, presumably dated between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, with hundreds of amphoras, two large lead anchor stumps and other structures.”The Italian Ministry of Culture said the find “speaks to us of people, routes, and trade, and of the role of the Mediterranean as a crossroads of civilisations”.It said research will continue with new documentation and study activities to reconstruct the archaeological context of the wreck and ensure its protection.Fisherman Giacomo De Mola said he and other divers were using sonar technology to survey the sea floor off the coast of Sicily when they came across “what looked like an ordinary rock”.“This is, without a doubt, the most incredible discovery of my life,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “During a day of surveying with Igor Bisulli, off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, on a seabed of about 45/50 metres, the StructureScan shows us what appears to be a simple rock. But something compels me to check. One last breath. And I descend.”He said the visibility wasn’t the best, adding he saw a large dark mass and thought it was a “big rock”.However, he took a closer look and said his heart stopped. “It wasn’t a rock. Below me was an immense expanse of amphorae. Hundreds of amphorae that had lain on the seabed for over 2,000 years.”He resurfaced and turned to Igor, saying: “You can’t imagine what’s down there …” “It’s hard to explain what it feels like to be among the first humans, in nearly 20 centuries, to see that place again. “We immediately reported the discovery to the Sicilian Regional Superintendency of the Sea.”Mr De Mola said initial analyses revealed an exceptional wreck: a pile of amphorae approximately 21 metres long, 6 metres wide, and almost 2 metres high, two large lead anchor stocks, and a leaden fistula. “Most of the amphorae are of the Dressel 1A type, but there are also Lamboglia 2 amphorae, likely North African amphorae, and a Neo-Punic amphora. An extraordinary testimony to Mediterranean trade routes over 2,000 years ago. “This time we didn’t just find a wreck. We found a piece of our history.”