In an amazing turn of events, Serbian coal miners accidentally stumbled upon a significant archaeological find. The miners came across an ancient Roman boat. Keep reading for all of the information.
While many details have yet to be determined, the researchers have made significant revelations. The vessel is 43 feet long but most likely was longer during its heyday. Also, the researchers believe that the boat dates back to the third or fourth century CE. Miomir Korac, the lead archaeologist, told Reuters, “We may assume that this ship is Roman, but we are unsure of its exact age.” If it does indeed date back to this time period, then it can be assumed that the boat was most likely part of a river fleet. During this time and in this area, there was an extraordinarily active and robust Roman city called Viminacium. According to Reuters, the city was a highly developed civilization with an estimated 45,000 inhabitants. At its height, Viminacium was a complete city with a forum, a palace, temples, amphitheater, aqueducts, hippodrome, fortifications, and baths. The ancient metropolis served as the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior and had a port on the Danube River.
Nowadays, the area that used to be the ancient city of Viminacium is an archaeologist’s dream. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, researchers have been excavating the land since the 1880s. The researchers on the ground hope that once they have finished fully excavating and researching the ship, they will display it along with other artifacts found in the area. However, the process is not so straightforward. The ancient boat was sprayed with water and kept under a tarp to help preserve its structure. A special system will have to be constructed in order to move the ancient ship to its new site. This is an exciting find for archaeologists, and it isn’t the first time this happened. A similar incident occurred in 2020 when coal miners mistakenly discovered three ships. At the time, Korac told Ars Technica, “Approximately 35 percent to 40 percent of the ship was damaged. But the archaeological team collected all the parts, and we should be able to reconstruct it almost in full.”
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There are still many discoveries yet to be uncovered. Archaeologists estimate that they have only found 5% of the ancient site, per Reuters. Stay tuned for more exciting archaeological findings.
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