Underwater robots finds rare artifacts in France's deepest shipwreck, a 16th century vessel
The team embarked on a three-day mission in April to study and carefully recover artifacts from the Camarat 4.
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Underwater video shows the SS Arlington at the bottom of Lake Superior where it sank during stormy weather in 1940. The ship's captain was the only one who didn't make it to safety, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.
A team of French researchers are using underwater robotics to examine an Italian shipwreck dating back to the 16th century.
The team, made up of members of the French Navy and France’s Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research (DRASSM), embarked on a three-day mission in April to study and carefully recover artifacts from the wreck.
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The site, which researchers have named Camarat 4, was discovered by chance in March 2025 by the Center for Expertise in Human Diving and Underwater Intervention (CEPHISMER), a branch of the French Navy.
Camarat 4 is considered the deepest archaeological site ever recorded in waters under French jurisdiction. (Sébastien Chenal / French Navy / Defense / DRASSM / FOX Weather)
When the wreck was first discovered, researchers determined it measured about 90 feet long and 22 feet wide and contained a large collection of handmade ceramics. Historians believe the well-crafted artifacts originated in the Liguria region of Italy.
Now, the team is using a one-of-a-kind remotely operated robot from the company Travocean to explore the shipwreck, which lies more than 8,200 feet below sea level in the Mediterranean Sea.
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The mission, led by Marine Sadania, a maritime archaeologist with DRASSM, utilized the robot, which is capable of operating at depths greater than 13,000 feet.
The team used one-of-a-kind remotely operated robot to study and carefully recover artifacts from the wreck. (Sébastien Chenal / French Navy / Defense / DRASSM / FOX Weather)
According to a social media post by DRASSM, the robot allowed the team to complete a full photogrammetric survey of the wreck. Processing of the 66,974 photographs is being carried out by Paul François of the Laboratory of Medieval and Modern Archaeology in the Mediterranean.
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Researchers were also able to obtain, for the first time, a complete three-dimensional view of the archaeological site, allowing them to closely examine and precisely measure artifacts such as anchors, cannons, ceramics and cauldrons.
More than a dozen decorative pitcher patterns were also identified.
The mission was able to recovery ceramic artifacts. (Sébastien Chenal / French Navy / Defense / DRASSM / FOX Weather)
The mission also carried out limited and targeted recoveries of some of the ceramic artifacts while implementing specialized conservation protocols and enhanced monitoring of the objects’ condition.
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Three pitchers were recovered from areas near the cargo accumulation, including one featuring an unseen design, along with a plate taken from the forward section between a cannon and an anchor.
Camarat 4 was discovered by chance in March 2025 by the Center for Expertise in Human Diving and Underwater Intervention. (DRASSM / FOX Weather)
To preserve the artifacts, researchers implemented three conservation protocols, and will use archeometric analysis throughout the different stages of the preservation process.
Camarat 4 is considered the deepest archaeological site ever recorded in waters under French jurisdiction.