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First Campaign Maps France’s Deepest Wreck at 2,500 Meters and Lifts 16th-Century Ceramics

The mission doubles as a testbed for safer recovery of fragile deep-water ceramics.

Overview

  • A joint NavyCephismerDRASSM team used a deep-rated remote robot from the vessel Jason to capture about 68,000 images and build a 3D model of the Camarat 4 site.
  • The robot retrieved three pichets and one plate from a cargo of hundreds of faience pieces, and DRASSM’s Marseille lab is now running chemical tests on them.
  • Archaeologists say the ship was a 16th-century merchant likely loaded in Liguria, based on the decoration and style of the ceramics.
  • Officials are withholding the exact coordinates to protect the site, which appears intact with no signs of post-wreck looting.
  • Researchers plan a November exhibit at the naval museum in Toulon to share early findings, and the wreck will stay on the seabed in line with UNESCO guidance.