SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND—Last month, a team of American and Greek divers located 23 shipwrecks in the waters around Fourni, a collection of 13 small islands in the eastern Aegean Sea. While the waters around the islands are considered to be safe, they were heavily traveled along routes stretching from east to west and north to south. Peter Campbell of the RPM Nautical Foundation told Live Science that ships anchored at Fourni were occasionally caught in storms that crashed them into the island’s tall cliffs. “It looks like the scene of a giant car crash, with these ceramics cascading down,” he said. Combined with discoveries made last fall, the team has spotted a total of 45 ancient wrecks, ranging in date from the sixth century B.C. to the 1800s. Amphoras, lamps, cooking pots, and anchors have been found at the wreck sites. The team has explored less than half of the coastline in the archipelago, however, and only in waters shallower than 213 feet. The next phase of the project could employ remotely operated underwater vehicles. For more on underwater archaeology, go to "Franklin’s Last Voyage."
