A team of researchers from the National History Museum, led by Professor Ivan Histrov, has made a significant discovery while diving in Bulgaria’s Black Sea. They uncovered over 100 ancient glass objects, adding to a collection of 310 similar vessels found in the same bay in 2020 and 2021.

The 112 newly discovered glass objects were found at a depth of 2 to 2.5 meters. They are believed to date back to the late 16th or early 17th century.

Experts believe the glass objects originated from the Venetian island of Murano, renowned for its high-quality glassware production.

“Until now, the hypothesis has been proposed that the vessels were most likely produced in a workshop on the island of Murano, Venice, in the second half of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th century. Here the question of the exact dating of the glass objects and the possible shipwreck remains to be determined,” the statement said.

The discovery has led researchers to believe that the glass objects may have been part of a ship’s cargo that was lost in a storm.

The museum believes that the wreckage of the ship is likely to be located near the area where the glass fragments were found.

While many of the glassware pieces were found in fragments, there are intact pieces that showcase the intricate craftsmanship of their creation.

The discovery of these underwater artifacts is “an important source of information on the poorly researched topic of consumption, trade, and production of glass in the Balkans during the Late Ottoman Period,” the museum wrote in the Facebook post.

The new underwater finds will be exhibited at the