[Article initialement publié en décembre 2024]
Sicily's maritime history
As announced by the account of the sea's superination in Sicily, photos in support of its Facebook account, a ship wreck dating from the 5th and 6th centuries before J.-C. was discovered near the Sicilian coast as part of a campaign of underwater excavations led by the Department of Human Sciences and Cultural Heritage of a local university.
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In addition to this wreckage, four anchors were also discovered. “” “This discovery represents an extraordinary contribution to the knowledge of the maritime history of Sicily and the Mediterranean and once again emphasizes the central role of the island in traffic and cultural exchanges of Antiquity ”, explained in a university press release Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, regional advisor of Sicily for cultural heritage and Sicilian identity.
The wood of the ship's shell was attacked by molluscs
As Massimo Capulli, professor of underwater and naval archeology of the Department of Humanist Studies and Cultural Heritage, specifies, the wreckage excavations were carried out in compliance with the suitable prudence. The state of the hull requires expertise, since the wood of the latter has been damaged because of the mollusc attacks.
He also adds that this wreckage is the direct witness “From a page in history in which the transition between archaic and classical Greece has taken place, and in which the colonies of Sicily also played a big role ”. Before Rome conquered the Mediterranean, the Greeks and the Punic argued with the control of the seas in this part of the globe.
Three weeks of excavations
In all, the excavations lasted three weeks. The third diving unit of the Messina Coast Guard and the Port Authority of Pozzallo joined the Underwater Archeology Unit of the University of Frioul during the second week. However, this is the first time that managers have shared these results.
These excavations are part of a project dating from 2017, the “Kaukana project” which aims to reconstruct the coastal landscape along the coast between Ispica, Kaukana and Kamarina. At the same time, the Sicilian submerged cultural heritage is discovered and studied.
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