What out of place archaeological find was discovered in Brazil's Guanabara Bay in 1982?

In 1982, Robert Marx, a scuba diver and treasure hunter, discovered an unusual find. While searching Guanabara Bay with sonar equipment in an underwater field at about 100 feet down a cache of Roman amphorae remains was discovered. A few amphorae were still intact and were dated to the third century. Amphorae are ceramic vessels used in the ancient Mediterranean region for storing and transporting various products, primarily wine.

The overarching question is: how would such artifacts get across the ocean? Potentially 1,000 years before the Portuguese explored the coast of present-day Brazil a large number of amphorae were transported and presumably dropped into the bay. The bay was closed by the Brazilian government in 1983 to deter looting, so gathering additional evidence is not possible.

On the west side of Guanabara Bay lies the city of Rio de Janeiro and is the second largest bay in area in Brazil.

Robert Marx, born in 1936, authored over 800 reports/articles and 59 books on history, archaeology, shipwrecks and exploration. He died in July 2019.