ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s Culture Ministry says three shipwrecks from ancient and medieval times and large sections of their cargoes have been discovered off the small Aegean island of Kasos.
A statement Monday said an underwater survey that ended last month also located cannons and other scattered finds — possibly from other foundered vessels that have not yet been pinpointed.
The oldest of the wrecks found was a 2,300-year-old trader. Its surviving cargo included amphorae — large jars used to transport wine, oil or foodstuffs — and fine tableware.
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Archaeologists also located five stone anchors in the wreck.
The two other ships dated to the 1st century B.C. and the 8th-10th century A.D.
Kasos lies between Crete and Rhodes on what remains a key trade route linking the Aegean with the Middle East.
Navy Times editor’s note: If they found gunpowder artillery then the find would date later than the 10th century ACE. On land, the Battle of Ain Jalut between the Mamluks and Mongols wasn’t until 1260. At sea, the Hundred Years War’s Battle of Arnemuiden (23 September 1338) between the English and the French came later. Despite the English cog Christophe(r)’s three cannons, the French still won.
