The Soprintendenza del Mare, in collaboration with the Capo Murro Diving Center in Syracuse, led by Fabio Portella, has documented one of the most important underwater archaeological findings in recent years in the Mediterranean. Thanks to an exhaustive three-dimensional photogrammetric study, a submerged archaeological site has been accurately recorded, located approximately 5 kilometers off the Sicilian coast, in the deep waters of the Natural Reserve Oasi Faunistica di Vendicari, in the province of Syracuse.
This find consists of around forty amphorae, resting on the sandy seabed, mostly aligned in the original cargo arrangement of an ancient vessel, presumably of a merchant type. It is believed that the remains of this ship, along with the rest of its cargo, are still buried under the sand.
This important archaeological discovery would not have been possible without the help of two fishermen from Avola, who in January 2022 reported the presence of these objects on the seabed. The information provided by these fishermen enabled archaeologists to identify the exact location of this ancient shipwreck, at a depth of 70 meters, which required specialized diving equipment and the technical expertise of Fabio Portella’s team at the Capo Murro Diving Center to carry out a safe and thorough exploration of the site. The state of preservation of the amphorae, of the type known as Richborough 527, is remarkable and provides a rare opportunity for studying ancient Mediterranean trade routes.
The Richborough 527 type amphora takes its name from the Richborough archaeological site in Kent, England, where this type of ceramic container was first identified. This type of amphora is characterized by its robust structure and frequent use for transporting various goods in antiquity, making it an essential piece of study for archaeologists.
The presence of these amphorae in Italian waters raises fascinating questions about trade exchanges between ancient Mediterranean cultures, particularly regarding the role played by the island of Lipari in the extraction and distribution of alum, a mineral highly valued in antiquity, especially in the textile industry as a mordant in dyeing processes.
The reference to Lipari is not arbitrary; in the early 1990s, excavations in the Portinenti area also uncovered amphorae of this type, along with production remnants that might be associated with alum. According to research, this mineral was in great demand across different regions of the Mediterranean and beyond, which encouraged its extraction in Lipari and its distribution through a network of maritime trade routes. Diodorus Siculus, an ancient Sicilian historian, mentions in his writings the activity of alum extraction in Lipari, a detail confirming the historical and economic importance of this activity in the region.
Researchers from the Soprintendenza del Mare have launched an additional investigation to confirm whether the amphorae found in the Vendicari wreck can be linked to those found in Lipari and dated between the late 1st century B.C. and the early Augustan era. This comparative analysis could provide valuable answers about the antiquity and the navigation routes that ancient merchants used to transport alum from Lipari to various points in the Mediterranean.
If the correlation is confirmed, the results could revolutionize current understanding of trade routes from that era, providing new data on how essential products for the ancient economy were distributed and transported.
Future research will include both ceramic remains analysis and sediment studies, as well as other advanced techniques, such as carbon dating, to gain a more detailed context of the cargo’s chronology and origin.
SOURCES
- Share on:
Discover more from LBV Magazine English Edition
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The Newly Formed Earth Was a Dry and Hot Place: A Theory Explains How Water Arrived Here and on Other Planets of the Solar System
A group of scientists from the Paris Observatory has proposed a new theory about how water arrived on Earth, a key question for understanding the emergence of life on our…
Analysis of Mesopotamian Texts in Akkadian Reveals How Emotions Were Experienced: Love Was Felt in the Knees
Love and emotions have been universal themes throughout human history, expressed in diverse ways but with commonalities across different cultures and eras. A fascinating recent study reveals that people in…
Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, the chronicles of the Korean kingdom spanning five centuries, are the longest uninterrupted ones of a single dynasty in history
In 2006, the Seoul government announced that the Guksa Pyeonchan Wiwonhoe (National Institute of Korean History) had undertaken the digitization of the Joseon Wangjo Sillok, that is, the “Veritable Records…
Tsakonian Is the Only Current Greek Language That Derives from the One Spoken by the Spartans
Although it is officially considered a dialect, Tsakonian is a divergent variety of Greek frequently classified as a separate language, as it is not intelligible to speakers of standard Modern…
Structures Found in Iraq Reveal the Deliberate Collapse of One of the First Centralized Governments Over 5,000 Years Ago
At the archaeological site of Shakhi Kora, located in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, excavations have provided new insights into the origin and evolution of the earliest state institutions, dated to…
The “Cella Vinaria” and Grounds of a Villa Where Famous 2nd Century Saguntine Wine Mentioned by Roman Writers Was Produced, discovered in Spain
Excavations conducted at the Sant Gregori site, located in the town of Burriana (Castellón, Spain), have brought to light significant remnants of a maritime villa from the Roman era that…
Spectacular Bronze Statues and Thousands of Coins Found in the Etruscan-Roman Sanctuary of San Casciano dei Bagni
In the picturesque municipality of San Casciano dei Bagni, located in the Italian province of Siena, archaeological discoveries continue to shed light on the rich history of the Etruscan-Roman sanctuary…
Why Inuit Culture Survived in Greenland While the Norse Disappeared: Children’s Toys Made the Difference
During the Little Ice Age, a period marked by freezing temperatures and extreme climatic conditions, two cultures coexisted in Greenland: the Inuit and the Norse. Although both groups faced the…
Deutsche Physik: The Germanized and Aryan Physics Some Nazi Scientists Opposed to Einstein’s Relativity
What does physics have to do with politics? Or racism? The answer is nothing… unless we are talking about Germany in the first half of the 20th century. In that…
Tiny Black Holes Created at the Beginning of the Universe Could Be Hiding in Hollow Planets, Rocks, and Ancient Buildings on Earth
Black holes result from the collapse of massive stars after they exhaust their fuel, creating regions of spacetime where not even light can escape. However, new research suggests that the…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
