Marsala Punic shipwreck

In 1969, Diego Boninni, the captain of a commercial dredge operating off the shore of Isola Lunga, not far from Marsala on the western coast of Sicily, discovered underwater formations covered with Posidonia seagrass.[1][2] Boninni showed some of his discoveries to Eduardo Lipari, a local whose family was connected to archeological excavations in the area. That same year, Boninni and Lipari took diver-archaeologist Gerhard Kapitän and British pioneer underwater archaeologist Honor Frost to the site of the underwater heaps. Frost and Kapitän returned to the area to further investigate what they had identified as ship ballast piles, evidence of ancient marine wrecks.[1]

Pioneer marine archaeologist Honor Frost

One of the wrecks surveyed in 1970 yielded a spearhead discovered within the ballast pile, along with a warship-type anchor found in close proximity. Other iron objects were also found, including what was interpreted to be a corvus, a military boarding device that played a notable role during the First Punic War. Based on the collective discoveries, Frost inferred that the site potentially represents the wreck of a warship. Likewise, the presence of other ballast piles in the vicinity suggested that the sinkings in the area were likely the result of acts of war. Frost returned in 1971 to the "Anchor and Spearhead Wreck" but her team's soundings did not find any wooden ship remains.[3] In 1971, expedition photographer David Singmaster signalled an off-course find to Frost at a depth of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). He had found two new piles of ballast stones, with a large stern timber emerging from the sand in between. More wooden remains of the ancient vessel were found, some of which were inscribed with Punic letters. The Punic letters were used as numerals, were painted at intervals along the keel to the positions of the ribs.[4][5] The vessel was dubbed the Marsala Punic Ship.[5] The Sicilian authorities and the British School at Rome mandated archaeologist Honor Frost to direct the excavations which was carried out over the course of four successive annual campaigns. Annual reports were published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. The final report was published by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in 1981.[6] The excavation was carried out off the shore of Isola Lunga, north of the Marsala, a town known in the ancient era as Lilybaeum and founded by the Carthaginians after the destruction of Motya in 397 B.C.[6][7][8] In 1974, the stern and very few other remains of another ship were discovered 70 m (230 ft) south of the Marsala Punic Ship. The second vessel was named Sister Ship.[8]

Punic Ship keel detail

The reconstructed Marsala Punic Ship retains the ship's original dimensions and materials. The ship was constructed from pine and aceraceous wood, materials that did not respond well to chemical preservation treatments. The Marsala Punic Ship boasted a straight keel measuring 30 m (98 ft), making the overall length nearly 35 m (115 ft), with a width of 4.8 m (16 ft), including the side gangways.[9][10] Estimated at around 120 metric tons.[7] The excavation findings and the shape of the vessel indicated that the remains were not from a merchant ship. Merchant ships typically have features designed for storing goods or drinking water, whereas the crockery discovered at the site was meant for individual use.[7] The ship was found to contain various types of butchered meats, such as deer, horse, beef, mutton, goat, and pork.[11] Additionally, fragments of marijuana stalks were found, presumably for the oarsmen to chew on.[12] The archaeologists made a number of other discoveries, including fragments of a basket, a rope, and human bones, suggesting that a person had been trapped. The presence of ballast confirmed the military nature of the Marsala Punic Ship.[13]

The ship's hydrodynamic features demonstrate the maritime expertise inherited from the Phoenicians, renowned innovators in shipbuilding who influenced both the Greeks and Romans. Additionally, it is believed that despite its trireme dimensions, the Marsala Ship was a quadrireme modeled after the fast and agile Rhodian galleys. In 264 BC, the Romans seized a Phoenician quinqueremes that ran aground. Polybius reports that the ship served as a model for the Romans' fleet ships; they realized the additional advantage of using Phoenician joints in shipbuilding, as the lumber used in edge-joined ship strakes does not have to be dried.[14] Early in the First Punic War in 260 BC, the Phoenician ship building technology allowed the Romans to build a fleet of 100 quinqueremes within a period of two months.[14]

Based on carbon-14 dating of wood fragments, the ships were estimated to be from around 235 ±65 BC.[19] According to Frost, the paleography of the Punic inscriptions found on the timbers of the wrecks indicate the ships were built between 300 and 260 BC.[20] These inscriptions made it possible for Frost to attribute the remains unquestionably to the Carthaginians.[21] The Marsala ships may have played a role in the momentous Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC, as there is no other recorded battle that could explain the presence of shipwrecks along the shore at Isola Lunga.[20] This battle saw the Roman fleet pitted against the Carthaginian fleet, resulting in a resounding victory for Rome and marking a decisive moment in the First Punic War.[22] There is disagreement among specialists regarding the role of the recovered ships. Honor Frost views the ships as having been combat vessels.[1][2] On the other hand, Franco-Tunisian historian and archaeologist Hédi Dridi, following Piero Bartoloni's perspective, believes that the recovered ships served as scout vessels, responsible for surveillance or acting as a link between larger ships engaged in direct combat. This interpretation is particularly influenced by the absence of bronze rostrums on the ships.[23][2]

• Gozo Phoenician shipwreck – Phoenician shipwreck near the coast of Malta
• Uluburun shipwreck – 14th-century BCE Mediterranean shipwreck
• Motya – Island and ancient city