The French Navy discovered an unmapped 16th‑century merchant ship off Ramatuelle in March 2025. Now called Camarat 4, the 98‑foot vessel rests below 2,500 metres (over 8,200 feet), the deepest recorded wreck in French waters. Underwater footage shows cooking pots, six cannons, anchors and decorated Ligurian ceramics, prompting researchers to call the site a 'time capsule'. Further ROV surveys and archival research aim to determine how the ship sank and why its stern is empty.
France's Deepest Shipwreck: 16th‑Century 'Camarat 4' Found Over 2,500 m Down
A close-up of rigging on a replica 16th-century sailing ship - Graeme J Baty/Shutterstock
In March 2025 a French Navy training team off Ramatuelle, in southeastern France, detected an unmapped wreck by sonar. Remote camera footage revealed a remarkably preserved 16th‑century merchant vessel lying more than 2,500 metres (over 8,200 feet) beneath the Mediterranean surface — making it the deepest shipwreck yet recorded in French waters.
Discovery and Identification
The 98‑foot wreck, provisionally named Camarat 4 for its proximity to Cap Camarat headland, was too deep for divers, so investigators relied on remotely operated equipment. After the Navy reported the find, the Ministry of Culture's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research examined the images and artifacts and dated the site to the 1500s.
A cluster of ceramics on the ocean floor - Sam_eder/Getty Images
What the Footage Revealed
Underwater recordings show an array of cargo and ship fittings preserved on the seabed: cooking pots, six cannons, multiple anchors and stacks of decorated ceramic jugs with pinched spouts, yellow‑glazed plates, and metal bars. Specialists traced the ceramics to Liguria, a coastal region of Italy, and stylistic features — including pieces inscribed with the letters IHS — support a 16th‑century origin.
Why Researchers Call It a 'Time Capsule'
The extreme depth has limited biological decay and access by looters, leaving fragile items intact and allowing archaeologists to study the assemblage in situ. Researchers describe the site as a time capsule and plan further survey work to establish how the vessel sank and why the stern appears largely empty. They note that any missing cargo may have been perishable and thus long gone.
Context and Next Steps
Camarat 4 now surpasses the submarine La Minerve (which sank in 1968) as the deepest known wreck in French waters. Ongoing investigations will combine more detailed ROV imaging, archaeological analysis of the recovered data, and archival research to try to determine the ship's origin, trade route, and final voyage.
Note: All details are based on the initial ROV footage and archaeological assessment released after the discovery; further study may refine dating and identification.
