Trench warfare is a way of life in Ukraine: In an unsettling echo of past wars, the hand-dug ditches provide defensive cover for troops as Russia’s invasion stretches on.
Now, reports the Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian defense unit discovered something unexpected while digging a trench in Odessa: ancient amphorae.
Soldiers with the Ukrainian 126th Territorial Defense found the tall, bottle-necked jars along with some ceramic shards earlier this month, taking to Facebook to document the find.
According to the defense troops, the amphorae have been dated to the fourth or fifth centuries C.E., a time when Odessa was a Roman settlement called Odessus.
The third-most populous city in Ukraine and an important shipping hub on the southwestern coast, Odessa is currently under Russian siege. The Times’ Tom Ball reports Russia has been targeting the city with missile strikes and a naval blockade to choke the port’s exports of Ukrainian grain and wheat.
The amphorae, which are in excellent condition, have been transferred to the Odessa Archaeological Museum.
