Incredible ‘black gold’ from 4,000-year-old shipwreck discovered 130ft under could give new glimpse into ancient life

SCIENTISTS believe they have discovered 4,000-year-old “black gold” from a ship which traversed the seas during the Stone Age.

The remarkable fragments are made from obsidian, a purple-black volcanic glass which has long been used to make cutting tools.

Jam Press

Fragments believed to be from the cargo of a Stone Age-era ship have been discovered in Capri, Italy[/caption]

Jam Press

Obsidian has been used for thousands of years to make cutting tools[/caption]

Jam Press

The discovery is hoped to deepen researchers’ understanding of ancient life on Capri and in the Mediterranean[/caption]

Often described as the “black gold of the Stone Age”, obsidian is formed by very rapid solidification of lava.

These particular fragments were discovered by the underwater unit of the Naples Police at 130ft below sea level and near the famous Grotta Bianca sea cave in Capri, Italy.

A mission to recover the remains was launched on November 20, which revealed an 8kg obsidian core measuring 28x20x15cm .

Underwater archaeologists said the fragment showed traces of chiselling and craftsmanship on the surface.

It will now be cleaned and restored.

The success of the mission prompted officials to want to survey the seabed more extensively in the hopes they might find the ship’s hull and any other cargo it might have been carrying.

Further exploration and recovery operations may deepen researchers’ understanding of ancient life on Capri and in the Mediterranean.

No hull from the Neolithic era has been found in the Mediterranean to date, with the oldest known in-tact shipwreck that of a Greek merchant ship found in the Black Sea some 50 miles off the Bulgarian coast and radiocarbon-dated to 2,400 years ago.

This new discovery comes after it was revealed a shipwreck with £16billion worth of treasure would soon be recovered from the depths of the Caribbean Sea – 300 years after it sunk.

The legendary San Jose Galleon, dubbed the “holy grail of shipwrecks”, plunged during a battle with a British squadron.

It was the jewel in the crown of the Spanish Navy during the War of the Spanish Succession before it was blown up in 1708.

Earlier this year, the bounty of another 300-year-old shipwreck off the British coast was dragged up from the deep.

A cache of coins and sabres were among the 2,500 artefacts recovered from the wreckage of 18th-century Dutch ship Rooswijk.

It sank to the seabed on January 9, 1740 shortly after setting sail for Jakarta from the Netherlands amid a blizzard and ferocious winds.