Italian divers have discovered the 2,100-year-old wreck of a Roman ship off Sicily, piled high with hundreds of well-preserved ancient clay jars, known as amphorae, which were likely used to transport wine.

The wreck, dubbed by Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli as “one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years”, was found some three miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo.

Divers from the cultural heritage protection arm of Palermo’s police said Saturday they had located the ship, thought to date to between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, some 150 feet down, after a tip-off from fishermen.

In an Instagram post, underwater fishermen Giacomo De Mola described seeing “something” on his boat’s underwater scanner which resembled a rock. De Mola said he decided to dive and investigate anyway, when he stumbled upon what he described as “without a doubt, the most incredible discovery of my life.”

“Visibility wasn’t the best… I got closer. And my heart stopped. Below me was a vast expanse of amphorae,” De Mola said in the instagram post, along with video footage of the discovery.

He said he “immediately” reported the discovery to the Superintendent of the sea of the Sicilian Region.

“It’s hard to explain what it feels like to be among the first human beings, after almost twenty centuries, to see that place again,” he said.

The ship, reported in local media to be some 21 metres long and six metres wide, was mostly carrying Dressel 1A amphorae, which were tall and cylindrical, and mainly used for carrying wine.