Archaeologists have discovered what they say are the remains of a 16th-century merchant ship more than 2.5 kilometres underwater off southern France, the deepest such find in its section of the Mediterranean or any other French waters.

Archaeologists believe the ship was sailing from northern Italy loaded with ceramics and metal bars before it sunk.

Despite a little modern household waste dotting its sunken cargo at 2,567 metres (more than 1.5 miles) below sea level, they were excited about the potential of an archaeological site largely preserved intact.