Exceptional Roman cargo shipwreck found in Lake Neuchâtel

The remains of a Roman vessel laden with cargo have been discovered on the bed of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The wreck sank between 20 and 50 A.D., and while the remains of the vessel itself are long gone, the site contains an exceptional diversity and quantity of artifacts — approximately 600 of them — many found intact. This is an unprecedented find in Switzerland, nor has any comparable example been found in any other inland waters north of the Alps.

The Neuchâtel Cantonal Archaeology Office (OARC) first spotted the wreck in an drone photography survey of the lake in November 2024. The survey was part of a project to monitor the lakebed’s vulnerable wrecks that has been ongoing since 2018. Maritime archaeologists followed-up a few days with an exploratory dive, and confirmed they’d found a large cargo of ceramics. They recovered a few artifacts for analysis, including a piece of wood that was radiocarbon tested returning a date range of between 50 B.C. and 50 A.D.

They returned in March 2025 to excavated the site, establishing a perimeter of the work area about 60 meters by 24 meters (196 x 79 feet). The center of was the area high concentration of ceramics, but the whole work area was divided into a grid for detailed documentation of every object and excavation. Several significant artifacts were discovered outside of the perimeter, including wooden and metal chariot wheels that are the only ones ever found in Switzerland. The team recovered about 150 objects from this first dig and they were taken to a restoration laboratory for conservation and stabilization.

Conservators developed a protocol to stabilize the recovered objects, keeping them in dimineralized water baths at the same temperature as the lake they came from, and then drying them gradually. The site was kept secret and monitored with waterproof cameras to protect the cargo from interference.

Excavations resumed after a year earlier this month. The goal was to precisely document every single artifact before recovering them. Most of the cargo consists of hundreds of ceramic tableware and amphorae, who sets of plates and bowls nested and stacked, likely the position they were in when packed in crates on the merchant ship. The largest number were terra sigillata (redware) platters, plates, goblets and bowls produced in the Swiss Central Plateau region. There were also amphorae of olive oil from Spain were also on board.

Other artifacts found in the wreck were tools from the ship’s crew, including metal kitchen gear like a bronze cauldron and a crucible, and an exceptionally preserved large wicker basket that held six ceramic pieces different from the rest of the cargo. This was likely the sailors’ cooking set.

Several horse bits and harness parts were found as well as four wood and metal cart wheels, plus metal artifacts from legionary gear like a highly decorated phalera, a fibula, a belt buckle and a dolabra (pickaxe). Two complete swords, one still inside its intact wooden scabbard, and one partial sword were found at the wreck site as well.

The swords and in particular the fibula help narrow down the date of the wreck. This style of fastening brooch only begins to appear on the archaeological record during the reign of Tiberius (14-37 A.D.). This range was also confirmed by dendrochronological analysis of a wooden board found under the stacked plates. The tree the board was made from was felled in 17 A.D.

These discoveries are evidence that the ship was at least escorted by legionaries, and given the dates, it was likely Legio XIII Gemina which was stationed at the Vindonissa camp (modern-day Windisch) in 16 A.D. It was tasked with preventing Germanic advances into the Swiss Plateau and the Alpine passes into Italy.

With such a large cargo, it’s possible the vessel was bringing supplies from Italy, Gaul and elsewhere in Helvetia to the legions garrisoning the Rhine and Danube. The wagons and horse gear on board are evidence that the Romans were prepared with a dual transport system, traveling lake routes with ships then moving seamlessly to land routes when necessary.

Enjoy this excellent video of the divers exploring the artifacts. The film quality is unusually high, so you get a really good look at the objects on the lakebed and as they are documented and recovered.

* This article was originally published here