NICOSIA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus has discovered its first ever Roman era shipwreck of good condition in the sea off the Protaras popular tourist resort in eastern coast, a statement by the Department of Antiquities said on Thursday.
It is the first ship of good condition from the Roman period to be found in Cyprus.
The statement said that the department was informed of the location by two volunteer divers of an underwater archaeology research group of the University of Cyprus archeology research unit.
It added that preliminary indications were that the ship dates back to Roman Cyprus, and was used to carry commercial amphorae.
The Department of Antiquities said it mobilized immediately with a view of securing the necessary resources to conduct a preliminary on-site investigation as soon as possible, while archeologists, students, and volunteers of the research group went to the scene to protect the position of the findings.
It added that the results of studies that are to be conducted on the shipwreck are expected to shed new light on the breadth and scale of the island's trade relations with the rest of the Roman provinces in the eastern Mediterranean.
The statement also said that the finding is of high significance for Cypriot archeology.
It further said that it is the first time that underwater archaeological research is conducted with sole funding from the Transport Ministry, under which the Department of Antiquities comes.
