A remarkably preserved Roman merchant ship from the late Roman Empire resting just about six feet (two meters) beneath the crystal blue waters off the coast of the island of Mallorca, near the Iberian Peninsula, is set to be recovered and raised starting in 2026. The Ses Fontanelles shipwreck, dating back to the mid-4th century CE, has provided researchers with a detailed look at a time when Christianity was becoming more predominant across the Mediterranean.The hull of the ship was planted so deeply in the sand that a protective barrier without oxygen preserved the wreck for over 1,700 years, until its discovery by a local swimmer in 2019. The discovery of the 39-foot-long (12-meter-long) vessel had led to the formation of the Arqueomallornauta Project, created with the support of the Consell de Mallorca. An October 23 press release from the council announced that, at the recent International Maritime Archaeology Conference, a team of archaeologists and preservation technicians came together to plan the careful, years-long extraction of the Roman ship beginning in 2026.Over 300 amphorae loaded with everything from fish sauce called garum to olive oil and wine were found within the hull of the shipOver 300 amphorae loaded with everything from fish sauce called garum to olive oil and wine were found within the hull of the ship. Archaeologists believe that the ship had departed from Carthago Spartaria (Cartagena), which was a major port within Roman Spain. Many of the containers had rare writings on them, called tituli picti, that allow historians to reconstruct ancient Roman trade routes. In a recent article in the Journal of Cultural Heritage, archaeologists examined the atramentum (black ink) used to paint writings on 82 of the containers from the shipwreck. Since the inscriptions often note the creator of the amphora, as well as its contents, and even the taxes paid, they offer valuable ways to figure out who was making and shipping various commercial products in the late Roman Mediterranean. The ship will be extracted in 2026.The shift to Christianity in the Mediterranean is evident in the growth of churches and ecclesiastical buildings on the mainland during the 4th century CE. However, the early Christian symbols on the ceramic seals on many of the Ses Fontanelles’ ceramic vessels also point to the religious identities of Roman merchants and commercial producers in the years after the emperor Constantine promoted the religion. Still, traditional Roman religion was not abandoned altogether. According to Historia, National Geographic’s Spanish–language edition, hundreds of amphorae with painted and inscribed writings and early Christian seals were found in the shipwreck. But so was an oil lamp with the image of the goddess Diana, two shoes (one leather and one esparto grass), ropes, plant remains, a coin dated to 320 CE, and a bow drill used for ship repairs. The shipwreck’s level of preservation impressed researchers.The planned extraction of the Roman vessel next year is about more than just the Ses Fontanelles shipwreck. The careful removal will provide more standardization of the process of raising ancient wrecks from the oxygenless sands that allowed for the preservation of this and many other ships. The discovery has integrated Mallorca more fully into the world of Mediterranean underwater archaeology. Researchers working on the Ses Fontanelles shipwreck have also made strong contributions to broader efforts to conserve and enumerate the hundreds of ancient maritime shipwrecks within the Mediterranean. As a result, the maritime routes and even Roman fish sauce of antiquity can now reemerge from the sands of time. Whether you’d actually want to try some of this garum today remains a different, more fetid question.