According to a translated statementfrom the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean (a French governmental agency), a routine military operation to inspect the country’s seabed led to an unusual sonar reading in 2025. A joint team from the French Navy’s Expert Center for Human Diving and Underwater Intervention and the Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research used the A18D deep-sea autonomous underwater vehicle to get an initial visual look. That led to a second remotely operated underwater vehicle checking out the site and mapping it out with detailed photography.

“The sonar detected something quite big, so we went back with the device’s camera, then again with an underwater robot to snap high-quality images,” said Thierry de la Burgade, deputy maritime prefect, accordingto Agence France-Presse.

What they found was a ship over 98 feet long and 23 feet wide—likely a 16th century merchant vessel with a load of ceramics on board. The color images show at least 200 earthenware pitchers now trapped under sediment. The globular pitchers—with pinched spouts and ribbon handles—include the monogram “IHS” (a Greek symbol representing Jesus Christ) and geographic pattern that may be inspired by plant life.

“These pitchers are characteristic of the well-documented Ligurian productions of the 16th century,” the agency wrote about a region that is now northern Italy. The team also found around 100 yellow plates, along with shipboard equipment of anchors, cannons, and two cauldrons.