Archaeologists in Serbia examine a river ship uncovered at ancient Roman city of Viminacium

euronews (in English)

Archaeologists in Serbia are examining the remains of what they say is a 13-metre-long river ship at the site of the Roman camp known as Viminacium, the capital of the ancient province of Moesia Superior.

Transcript

00:00 Archaeologists in Serbia are hard at work excavating the Viminacium site near the town

00:05 of Kostolak, where local coal miners found the remains of an ancient Roman ship earlier

00:09 this month.

00:10 Brushing the soil and sand off the wood, they unearthed the planks of a preserved riverboat,

00:15 some 13 metres long and 3.5 metres wide.

00:18 Located at the Drumno Mine, 95 kilometres east of Belgrade, researchers are rushing

00:24 to preserve what is left of the vessel.

00:26 "It is very difficult to find organic material in Serbia, especially when it is not in the

00:33 water.

00:34 We were lucky to find a preserved riverboat on a layer of planks, 7 metres deep."

00:41 "It was not found in its entirety, but the wood is in good condition, so it looks excellent."

00:51 The ship has been transferred to the nearby archaeological centre, where further research

00:56 continues.

00:57 "We moved it and buried it in the sand, so that the wood would not dry out.

01:06 Wood is one of the most delicate materials, and if it dries out, it falls apart.

01:13 So this is how we preserve wood."

01:17 This latest discovery is believed to have been part of a river fleet that once served

01:21 the city of Viminacijum.

01:23 Similar vessels have been discovered in the area and are believed to have either sunk

01:27 or been abandoned.

01:28 Experts say the ship may date back as far as the 3rd or 4th century AD, but are still

01:33 investigating.

01:34 "The samples were sent last week to the laboratory in Hungary, and we expect to get results in

01:40 about two, two and a half months.

01:43 Then there will be no more doubts."

01:45 To fund the dig, archaeologists are hoping to secure financial support from the Serbian

01:49 government.

01:51 They aim to showcase their discoveries in a museum close to their research centre in

01:55 Kostolak.

01:58 Archaeologists have been working at Viminacijum since 1882, and researchers estimate that

02:03 just 5% of the 450 hectare site has so far been excavated.

02:08 [WHOOSH]

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