<p class="title">An ancient Greek trading ship dating back more than 2,400 years has been found virtually intact at the bottom of the Black Sea, researchers said on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The vessel is one of more than 60 shipwrecks identified by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project including Roman ships and a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet.</p>.<p class="bodytext">During the three-year project, researchers used specialist remote deep-water camera systems previously used in offshore oil and gas exploration to map the sea floor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A small piece of the vessel has been carbon dated and it is confirmed as the oldest intact shipwreck known to mankind," the project said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ship, which is lying on its side with its mast and rudders intact, was dated back to 400 BC -- a time when the Black Sea was a trading hub filled with Greek colonies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team said the vessel, previously only seen in an intact state on the side of ancient Greek pottery, was found at a depth of more than 2,000 metres (6,500 feet).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The water at that depth is oxygen-free, meaning that organic material can be preserved for thousands of years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A ship, surviving intact, from the Classical world, lying in over 2km of water, is something I would never have believed possible," said Professor Jon Adams from the University of Southampton in southern England, the project's main investigator.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world," he said. </p>
<p class="title">An ancient Greek trading ship dating back more than 2,400 years has been found virtually intact at the bottom of the Black Sea, researchers said on Tuesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The vessel is one of more than 60 shipwrecks identified by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project including Roman ships and a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet.</p>.<p class="bodytext">During the three-year project, researchers used specialist remote deep-water camera systems previously used in offshore oil and gas exploration to map the sea floor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A small piece of the vessel has been carbon dated and it is confirmed as the oldest intact shipwreck known to mankind," the project said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ship, which is lying on its side with its mast and rudders intact, was dated back to 400 BC -- a time when the Black Sea was a trading hub filled with Greek colonies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team said the vessel, previously only seen in an intact state on the side of ancient Greek pottery, was found at a depth of more than 2,000 metres (6,500 feet).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The water at that depth is oxygen-free, meaning that organic material can be preserved for thousands of years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"A ship, surviving intact, from the Classical world, lying in over 2km of water, is something I would never have believed possible," said Professor Jon Adams from the University of Southampton in southern England, the project's main investigator.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world," he said. </p>