Roman shipwreck carrying Gallic amphoras found off coast of Portofino, Italy

Two lucky scuba divers have stumbled across ancient cargo stolen by Romans and dropped in the Mediterranean Sea.

Credit: Rasta Divers

The cargo, thought to be 2000 years old, was discovered by Edoardo Sbaraini and Gabriele Succi, from Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy, in late November last year.

They were surveying waters of the coast of Portofino when noticed 15 Gallic amphoras, or pottery, half submerged in the sand.

Credit: Rasta Divers

The divers immediately informed the local Soprintendenza Archeologica (Department of Antiquities), and the first ceramic jug was picked up from the ocean floor on January 10, 2019.

Footage taken by the divers shows the ancient jars, of inestimable value, lying 50 metres under the surface.

Credit: Rasta Divers

While most of them are perfectly intact, one is shattered and its remains provide shelter to all sort of sea life, including two lobsters.

Edoardo said: "Thanks to our underwater scooters we were able to conduct a wide survey of the waters outside of Portofino, and we found the amphoras in a place divers don't normally get to.

Credit: Rasta Divers

"The first thing we noticed was the necks and flat bottoms of some of the jars popping out of the sand."

"When we realised what we'd found we were shocked, it's every diver's dream to find historical relics and for us it was an incredible experience," he continued.

Credit: Rasta Divers

"We told the Soprintendenza about the jars and they were on the place basically on the same day."

According to Edoardo, new statements from the Department of Antiquities are expected to come out in next weeks to shed more light on the precise origin of the relics.