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It was meant to be a brief survey with the possibility of limited find. But archeologists who dived into the waters around the Greek archipelago of Fourni discovered a mass grave of ships in just two weeks.

According to Live Science, researchers from Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities and RPM Nautical Foundation found 22 shipwrecks which remained undocumented. The wrecks date to archaic period (700-480 BC) through the 16^th century. Most wrecks are said to be from the later Roman period up until 600 AD. The waters were an important part of the Aegean Sea route. The Fourni Archipelago comprises 13 islands.

"I think we were all shocked. We were expecting three or four wrecks, and we would have been very happy," said Peter Campbell, co-director of the project from the U.S.-based RPM Nautical Foundation, according to CBS News which also reported that wrecks were found in waters as shallow as 3 meters.

Given that the discovery was made in just 17 square miles, researchers are unsure how many more shipwrecks are waiting to be discovered.

"We knew already that Fourni was a hub in navigation in the Aegean, so we had some expectations, but the results surprised us. The importance of this place was underestimated," George Koutsouflakis, the Greek director of the survey, from the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, said.