Mycenaean treasury at sea bottom

It sank about 3,200 years ago under the water of the Saronic Gulf, near the rocky islet Modi (or Liodari), south east of Poros. Loaded with at least 20 vases, this Mycenaean commercial ship never reached its destination. The shipwreck was discovered by the Institute of Marine Archaeological Research a few months ago and scientists believe it dates from the Late Copper Period. "We can't know for sure the carriage of the ship because very rarely organic relics are traced in the Greek seas", said the archaeologist Christos Agouridis. "However, judging from the form and the size of the vases, it is possible that they contained liquid (olive oil and wine) and solid products, such as fruits." Traces of the ship itself haven't been found but archaeologists believe that it must have been about 10 metres long and that it could safely cover large distances. This shipwreck is of special importance because it dates a bit before or a bit after the fall of the Mycenaean world, an era of great re-arrangments in Eastern Mediterranean. That time, people with naval power found shelter on the islands and continued from there their commercial occupancy, therefore the shipwreck of Modi may throw light on the commercial practices of that time. Only three more shipwrecks of that era have been found till now, two in Turkey and one in Greece.