Shipwrecks
The John C. Rouman Lecture Series in Classical and Hellenic Cultures. The development in the last ten years of the new robotic technology to explore the sea floor at depths of up to 6000 m. has revolutionized underwater archaeology . While over three-fifths of planet earth is covered with water, over 95% of the oceans still remain unexplored. But n...
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The Roman ship of Comacchio was discovered on the city outskirts near the initial section of the Water Collection Canal, the principal drainage channel of the Valle Ponti basin which was reclaimed between 1919 and 1922... The first clues of the vessel's presence were revealed in the fall of 1980 (signalled by the Comacchio Archaeological Group) whe...
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During the summers of 1961-64, an expedition of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of George F. Bass excavated the wreck of a 7th-century Byzantine ship that had struck a reef just off the small coastal island of Yassi Ada located between the Turkish mainland and the Greek island of Kos. The wreck lay at an ...
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A 5th Century B.C. Merchantman in Italy. Like the Byzantine ship at Yassi Ada (INA Newsletter Vol. 1, No.2) the Porticello shipwreck was excavated by INA staff members while still working for the University Museum. The wreck, located on the Italian side of the Straits of Messina, near the village of Porticello, was discovered by a local Italian fis...
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An exceptional wreck means far more than the sum of its wooden parts; many features of this well preserved after-end of a cargo-less vessel are unique and heavy with implication. Phoenicio-Punic writing is one of them: when first excavated the black calligraphy showed clearly on pine-wood planking that was still yellow, just as the "dunnage" (or le...
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Two Bronze Helmets of Etruscan Typology from a Roman Wreck,
from a Roman Wreck Found at the Les Sorres Anchorage (GavĂ -Viladecans, Catalonia). Under Franco's regime, a great number of Catalan archaeological sites were partially or totally spoliated and/or destroyed, the public powers being absolutely unconcerned about this fact. A paradigmatic e...
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The Roman vessel of Spargi Island II Century B.C. The famous Ship of Spargi was a Roman trade vessel sunk near the Secca Corsara off Spargi Island, probably between 120 and 100 B.C. She carried a cargo of olive oil, of wine in Dressel 1 amphorae (below) and a large amount of Campanian pottery... Some small bronze statuettes (right) have been stolen...
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The Roman vessel of Capo Testa I Century B.C. The Ship of Capo Testa was a Roman trade vessel, about 20m long, carrying a cargo of iron and lead ingots (left): she sank near Capo Testa (East of Bocche di Bonifacio) during the first Century B.C....
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The Roman vessel of Arbatax I Century B.C. The Ship of Arbatax was a Roman trade vessel sunk near Capo Bellavista (Arbatax) during the second half of the first Century B.C....
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The Roman vessels of Costa Rey I Century B.C. Two ancient ships have been discovered on the seabottom off Costa Rey: they are both Roman trade vessels, sunk near Punta Santa Giusta (Costa Rey) in different occasions during the first Century B.C....
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