Police divers based in Olbia, Italy, have discovered three ancient Roman amphorae resting on the seabed off nearby Porto Rotondo, the Sassari police headquarters said. The find was made during a routine dive focused on underwater safety, when officers noticed a broken piece of terracotta that appeared to belong to an amphora.
The dive team is part of the General Prevention and Public Rescue Office of the Sassari police headquarters, which oversees policing for the Olbia area. After spotting the fragment, the divers returned to the site for a second dive and located three intact terracotta vessels, each showing signs of partial corrosion, police said.
The discovery immediately drew the attention of the divers and raised the possibility that more artifacts were nearby, officials said. That led to a focused underwater search that turned up additional pieces still awaiting classification.
Roman amphorae discovery reported by police divers
The police divers said the Roman amphorae, along with the newly found items, are being examined further by specialists.
The three amphorae, which show only partial corrosion, were catalogued by the divers, who then notified the Superintendency for Archaeological Heritage, the regional authority responsible for reviewing such finds.
Three amphorae were found in the waters of Porto Rotondo: the discovery was made by State Police divers. pic.twitter.com/4OLYzLcxvm
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) August 31, 2026
Police said early assessments suggest the amphorae may have originated from the Lazio or Campania regions of Italy, or from Spain. They could date to a period spanning the second half of the 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. Officials cautioned that a final determination will depend on formal evaluation by the Superintendency.
Final assessment to confirm amphorae’s historical value
What began as a single fragment of terracotta ultimately led to the recovery of a piece of history that had rested beneath the waters of Porto Rotondo for centuries, police said.
Officials said the operation underscored the skills of State Police specialists trained for underwater duty, whose work extends beyond safety and rescue missions at sea to identifying and protecting historical and archaeological items found on the seabed.
Further examination by the relevant authorities will determine the precise origin, composition, age and historical value of the three amphorae, police said.
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