• "Well preserved", the ship Fort Royal 1, discovered in 2017 at a depth of 19 m off Cannes, was to be the subject of an archaeological dig.

  • And "it was during the launch of it that the finding of a looting, important, recent and still in progress was made", specify the authorities, who opened an investigation.

The area is now protected, prohibited from anchoring and navigation.

After the discovery of "significant looting" on a wreck dating from the 2nd c.

av.

J.-C., north of the Lérins Islands, not far from Cannes, an investigation has been opened by the maritime gendarmerie of Marseille, announced this Wednesday the prefecture of the Mediterranean.

She evokes the “ransacking of a major heritage site”.

“Well preserved”, the Fort Royal 1 ship, discovered in 2017 at a depth of 19 m, was to be the subject of an archaeological dig.

And "it was during the launch of it that the finding of a looting, important, recent and still in progress was made", specify the authorities.

Tools used by the criminals have even been discovered and certain historical elements have already been taken “in all illegality”.

Stolen Greco-Italic amphorae

Scientists had planned to study both the wooden hull and the cargo of this craft.

When it was discovered, the wreck was still loaded with Greco-Italic amphorae, which contained wine from the Tyrrhenian coast and therefore some have disappeared.

Will they soon find themselves on sale through obscure networks?

The police will continue to investigate.

In the meantime, “the losses of scientific and historical information are probably major”, regrets the prefecture.

"The looters are not content to collect objects, most often in an organized way and for commercial purposes, they destroy sites and make the study much more complex, even impossible," she laments.

Hellenistic maritime history in question

According to specialists, the study of the Fort Royal 1 wreck could reveal part of Hellenistic maritime history, the period between the conquest of Alexander (331-323 BC) and Roman domination ( 31 BC).

It would shed light on the rise of the wine trade during Rome's expansion into the western Mediterranean.

To preserve the site, in addition to police control, two scientific vessels from the Department of Underwater and Underwater Archaeological Research are deployed.

Archaeologists and preventive conservation specialists are also dispatched to the site.

At the same time, investigators will try to find the trail of the looters.

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