Befor beginning railroad work, exploration of the ground last December revealed the existence of four Roman ships from somewhere between the second Century B.C and the second Century A.D.

The discovery was enough to make an archeologist's dreams come true, but now it has been discovered that the total number of perfectly preserved ships is not four, but seven or eight.

"We can't keep count of all the ships we've discovered," says a very satisfied Stefano Bruni, director of the dig, in the La Repubblica newspaper. "As well as the ships we have discovered, we know that somewhere nearby there are 100 anphorae from the second Century B.C. with no ship to contain them."

It is a well-known fact that over the centuries the river Arno has changed the coastline by several miles. This fact explains the current discovery, and permits archeologists to hypothesize about where the port of Pisa must have been in ancient times.

In late April/early May, the removal of the finds to the Medici Arsenal will begin, and it is hoped to be able to open a museum there. In this way the public will have access to the restoration work, that will be long and extremely costly.