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A 2000-year-old Roman shipwreck found with thousands of well-preserved containers may reveal clues about the people who lived during the beginning of the Roman Empire, along with their economy and trade.

George Ferentinos at the University of Patras, Greece, and his colleagues explored the sea floor around the coast of Cephalonia Island in the Ionian Sea using sonar imaging.

They discovered three wrecks from the second world war 鈥� two ships and one plane 鈥� that are almost intact, as well as a large ancient Roman vessel that they dubbed the Fiscardo, after the present-day fishing port near where it was discovered.

The top of the wreck is full of piles of jug-like containers, called amphorae (see image, below). Their distinctive shapes allowed Ferentinos and his team to date the wreck to the period between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD.

At 34 metres long and 13 metres wide, the Fiscardo is one of the largest four shipwrecks from this period found in the Mediterranean Sea, and the largest in the east Mediterranean Sea, says Ferentinos.

鈥淚t鈥檚 half buried in the sediment, so we have high expectations that if we go to an excavation in the future we will find part or the whole wooden hull,鈥� he says. This could tell archaeologists when and where the ship was made, where the material came from and how it was repaired.

Judging by the ship鈥檚 size, it was probably carrying around 6000 amphorae at the time it sank, he says. These were typically used to transport wine, olive oil, grains and other goods.

This is a monumental number, says Craig Barker at the University of Sydney, Australia. The size, shape and design of these containers vary by location, so can reveal where the ship was sailing to and from 鈥� and DNA and chemical analyses may even reveal what was inside them.

Given the hull of the ship appears to be more than 3 metres tall, Ferentinos believes there could be artefacts underneath the amphorae as well.

Even personal trinkets may shed light on the backgrounds of the sailors, says Barker. 鈥淭his puts us in direct contact with sailors whose names we鈥檒l never know, who died more than 2000 years ago,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e can virtually reach out and touch the objects that they were trading and handling themselves.鈥�