The Undiscovered Country
About 95% of the Mediterranean seafloor is still unsurveyed. Recently AI steered ROVs and multibeam sonar off Sicily mapped 27 bronze rams from the 241 BCE Egadi battle (read) and, in July, a sixth century BCE Greek merchantman near Ispica whose mast still stands six meters down (details). Thousands of sonar blips remain, so each dive could redraw trade routes, revise warfare timelines, and perhaps finally clarify the existence of Greek fire and Archimedean weapons. Next season’s planned AUV sweeps in the Bay of Naples, site of the 474 BCE Battle of Cumae, may surface rams, helmets, and cargo that predate Egadi by two centuries; artifacts poised to anchor Classical fleets in hard data (learn more).