Divers have discovered a Phoenician boat dating back to 700 BC, believed to be the oldest shipwreck to be found in the Mediterranean, Malta's culture minister says.
Owen Bonnici said the wreck was discovered in waters 120 metres deep near the coast of Malta.
The divers also found 20 lava grinding stones next to it, which weighed some 35 kilograms each. Samples have been raised to the surface for study.
The Phoenicians were based in present-day Lebanon and were known as traders who travelled across most of the Mediterranean.
According to scientists, the boat was probably about 15 metres long.
The site was being explored by Groplan, a project funded by the French National Research Agency which is developing underwater photogrammetry.
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