Shipwreck Mystery Teased by Divers' Helmet Discovery

Divers have discovered a centuries-old military helmet in the Mediterranean Sea—and the artifact could shed light on a previously unknown shipwreck.

The helmet was spotted by three divers in the waters off the coast of the Vendicari Nature Reserve in eastern Sicily—an Italian island that is the largest in the Mediterranean—the Superintendency of the Sea for the region (Soprintendenza del Mare) announced last month in a Facebook post.

The object was lying on the seabed at a depth of only about 16 feet when the divers found it. The team included underwater cultural heritage expert Matteo Azzaro, as well as University of Naples researchers Enzo Morra and Leopoldo Repola.

"The three divers, experts in the field of underwater archaeology, immediately understood that it could be a metal helmet and recovered the object to submit it for evaluation by the Soprintendenza del Mare," superintendency spokesperson Salvatore Emma told Newsweek.

The helmet appears to be of the "cabasset" or "capacete" type, and is thought to date back to between the late 15th and 17th centuries. This form of helmet was very widespread among the infantry of this period and commonly worn by troops that set sail across the Mediterranean.

The discovery is "very important" because it could be related to the presence of a previously unknown shipwreck. However, further investigations will be required to shed light on this hypothesis.

"Soon the Soprintendenza del Mare will carry out a series of underwater reconnaissance in the area of the discovery, trying to clarify whether it is an isolated discovery or whether it is possibly related to the presence of a wreck from the late medieval or [early] modern era," Emma said. "Divers from the Soprintendenza del Mare will be used for a visual reconnaissance. Underwater metal detectors will also be used to identify any metal traces beneath the marine sediment."

The stretch of sea where the helmet was found witnessed some battles between the English and Spanish fleets in the 15th-17th centuries, which could help to shed light on the origin of the object.

"Not far from the place of discovery, cannons belonging to boats of the same period have already been identified. Future investigations will be carried out to verify whether there is a correlation between the episodes," Emma said.

The helmet was found practically intact, but it was covered with cement-like formations known as concretions that are often seen on artifacts found in marine environments.

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