There are two main bacterial groups that degrade waterlogged wood: erosion bacteria and tunnelling bacteria. Experimental laboratory research and investigations of degraded archaeological wood from various terrestrial and aquatic sites worldwide have confirmed the presence of these two groups6–8. Erosion bacteria can degrade wood under very low oxygen concentrations, while tunnelling bacteria are widespread in nature, occurring in both terrestrial and aquatic environments and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and humidity9. The more commonly reported bacteria associated with wood-decay environments are cellulolytic aerobes such as Cytophaga, Cellvibrio, anaerobic genera such as Clostridium, and cosmopolitan taxa such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, Flavobacterium, and Spirillum10,11. Fungi that cause soft-rot usually belong to the Ascomycota and are able to degrade wood in terrestrial and aquatic environments, having low oxygen requirements. Fungal taxa associated with soft-rot wood decay in terrestrial environments, include among others, the genera Cladosporium, Acremonium, Fusarium, and Chaetomium12. In the marine environment, wood is degraded by marine fungal taxa that have been recorded since 1944 by Barghoorn and Linder and shown to have lignocellulolytic capacity under laboratory conditions as revealed by Gareth Jones since 197113,14.