A Byzantine ship sank off Croatia more than 1,300 years ago; archaeologists have now recovered about 600 grams of gold that points to an imperial passenger

A shipwreck beneath the Mediterranean has recently revealed more gold than any other in the region to date. The vessel sank in the Adriatic Sea in the seventh or eighth century C.E. and its cargo included a gold signet ring likely associated with an emperor along with a gold belt encrusted with gems.More than 40 gold objects were found along with other luxurious imperial objects. The finds were located in the waters off the coast of Mljet, a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, which is home to more than two dozen sunken ships spanning nearly 2,500 years. But one stands out as “the most important shipwreck of its period,” opening up the portal into the little-known chapter in Byzantine history, according to Justin Leidwanger, an archaeologist at Stanford University as per Reuters.

The treasure trove

The vessel contained a rich cargo of four gold belt sets and a pseudo buckle decorated with emeralds, rubies and pearls, as well as coins minted under four emperors of the Heraclian dynasty. Excavations also revealed a gold signet ring that may bear the likeness of the dynasty’s founder, Heraclius, who ruled the Byzantine Empire between 610 and 641. Per a statement from the state-run Croatian Conservation Institute, which started surveying the wreck in 2015, the ring could only have been worn by a high-ranking official authorised to seal documents in the emperor’s name. When it comes to the trade context, there are amphorae, ceramic vessels, scales, weights, and ivory tokens and playing dice, all of which testify to the developed trade relations of the Byzantine Empire.Collectively, the gold treasures recovered from the sunken ship weigh more than 21 ounces, making the trove the largest of its kind “ever found on a shipwreck in the entire Mediterranean,” Igor Miholjek, the institute’s head of research, said to the outlet.The ship is believed to have sunk during the period once known as the Dark Ages, named after the widespread cultural decline that supposedly took place across Europe at the time. More recent research has debunked the myth of intellectual stagnation between roughly 500 and 1000, but written records from this period are scarce, and many aspects of the early medieval era remain poorly understood.“It’s a blank,” Francesco Borri, a medieval historian at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice who wasn’t involved in the research, told National Geographic’s Roff Smith as per a report by Smithsonian Magazine. “That’s why the discovery of this ship is so exciting.”

How does the ship fit into the Byzantine Empire timeline?

According to Smith, the vessel sank “when the fortunes of the Byzantine Empire were at a low point and when some historians believe that the Adriatic was an impoverished backwater, virtually devoid of shipping.” The ship’s cargo suggests otherwise, testifying to continued maritime activity in the region.According to scholars, the interesting assortment of goods recovered from the wreck raises more questions than answers. Why was the ship carrying so much goldsmithing equipment? Were the luxury items intended as gifts and more? To find the answers, researchers plan to continue analysing artefacts associated with the wreck, in addition to revisiting the site in search of further evidence.For now, the exact nature of the doomed voyage remains unclear. But Miholjek told National Geographic that “whatever was going on here, this was no normal trading venture.” The presence of gold treasures directly linked to a Byzantine emperor suggests that a high-ranking official was travelling on the ship, perhaps at the head of a diplomatic party bringing gifts to a faraway ally. Alternatively, it’s possible that the individual was simply a wealthy elite who booked passage on an otherwise ordinary cargo ship.“The material evidence does not yet force a choice between those explanations,” medieval history enthusiast Luciano Anastasi wrote on his blog. “What it does rule out, or at least weaken sharply, is the image of a routine small-scale coaster carrying nothing but staple goods between neighbouring ports.”Miholjek announced that the results of the research will be presented to the public through a large exhibition accompanied by a catalogue and publication, and a documentary film about the work of the Department of Underwater Archaeology and the rich cultural heritage of the island of Mljet is also in preparation. The film is being shot by Paula and Đelo Jusić from the Adriaton production company, and the premiere is expected at the end of the year.