Asterix Update
No, not the loveable short Gaul, but the shipwreck. From the BBC: Dr Jason Monaghan said Asterix is the most historically valuable Roman artefact in northern Europe. He said a public private partnership could be the way forward. Dr Monaghan said: “It’s a very exciting idea, but Guernsey is actually quite a small place and [...]
Roman Shipwrecks off Zannone
This one just started filtering in this a.m. … here’s the Reuters coverage: A team of marine archaeologists using sonar scanners have discovered four ancient shipwrecks off the tiny Italian island of Zannone, with intact cargoes of wine and oil. The remains of the trading vessels, dating from the first century BC to the 5th-7th [...]
Roman Shipwreck near Panarea
Image via Wikipedia Starting the summer blogging season with a brief item from ANSA: The wreck of a Roman ship from the first century AD which is still whole and has over 500 wide-mouthed amphorae onboard has been discovered to the south of the island of Panarea. The discovery, which was made by the Sea [...]
That Shipwreck Full of Lead
A while ago we mentioned that lead recovered from a Roman shipwreck was going to be used to help in neutrino research. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was more interested in the shipwreck than the lead, so I’m happy to share this very interesting video/slideshow thingy by Rossella Lorenzi of Discovery News [...]
Protecting a Greek Shipwreck
Very interesting item buried in my email from last week: The second century Greek trading vessel lies on the sea bed off the coast of Cavtat. Little remains of the wooden ship but its cargo of earthenware amphora – ceramic vases – still remain stacked row upon row. The vases, which originally contained olive oil [...]
Roman pots found off Italy’s coast
Not sure how you stumble underwater but … Researchers have stumbled upon a collection of rare Roman pots while scouring ship wrecks off the Italian coast of Capo Palinuro, near Policastro. The British team from the Aberdeen-based Hallin Marine International energy company found hundreds of ancient pots 1,640ft under the sea while trawling modern wrecks [...]
Interview with Franck Goddio
Renowned archaeologist Franck Goddio talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky [below] about his efforts to recover artifacts from the ancient cities of Alexandria, Heracleion and Canopus, with special attention to discoveries related to Cleopatra and her reign. via Cleopatra’s Alexandria Treasures | Scientific American Podcast.
Roman Theatre at Baia
Came across this one las week but couldn’t get it to post for some reason … it details the discovery via satellite imagery, off the shore of Baia, of what seems to be a Roman theatre: Era il lontano 1956, quando Raimondo Bucher – ufficiale pilota da caccia – scoprì durante una ricognizione aerea, giacere [...]
Podcast:Cleopatra’s Alexandria Treasures
Renowned archaeologist Franck Goddio talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky [below] about his efforts to recover artifacts from the ancient cities of Alexandria, Heracleion and Canopus, with special attention to discoveries related to Cleopatra and her reign. The exhibit Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt opens at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia [...]
Guernsey’s Roman Shipwreck
From the BBC (January 27): Dr Margaret Rule clearly remembers receiving a phone call from diver Richard Keen on Christmas Day 1982 saying he had found a ship wreck. The ship was located in the mouth of St Peter Port and was suspected to be a medieval barge. Closer inspection in summer 1983 revealed it [...]
Ancient Skylletium?
I was having problems understanding the Italian coverage on this one yesterday (specifically, the architect’s description, which is also in Il Quotidiano), but thankfully it’s appeared in the English press this a.m. … here’s the ANSA coverage: An amateur scuba diver has discovered what may be the ruins of an ancient city off the coast [...]
Ancient Port of Trafalgar
I’m hoping we’ll get more on this one, but many of these items reported by ANSA never seem to make it beyond ANSA’s own English coverage: Searches along the Cadiz coast have led Spanish archaeologist Joaquim Casellas to find the ancient port of Trafalgar, 50 metres below the waves and partly buried at a depth [...]
Roman Shipwrecks of Ventotene
This has finally hit the newswires, it appears … excerpts from the Reuters coverage: A team of archaeologists using sonar technology to scan the seabed have discovered a “graveyard” of five pristine ancient Roman shipwrecks off the small Italian island of Ventotene. The trading vessels, dating from the first century BC to the fifth century [...]
Gela Shipwreck?
This is another one from the Italian press which I’ve been hoping would get some notice in the English press, but it doesn’t appear that that will be happening. The Carabinieri have been diving in the sea near Caltanisetta to recover assorted archaeological items which appear to be associated with several periods and several (?) [...]
Boka Kotorska Shipwreck
AFP seems to be the only major news agency that picked this one up … via IAfrica: A shipwreck believed to date back to Roman times was found at the bottom of Montenegro’s Boka Kotorska bay, officials said on Tuesday. “We believe we have found the wreckage of a ship that could have been used [...]
Kizilburun Shipwreck
Not sure how I’ve missed the scattered news reports on this one over the past few years, but the Kizilburun Shipwreck ‘dig’ seems to be rather significant. As the name might suggest, the site is off the coast of western Turkey and is largely the project of Deborah Carlson (and others) from Texas A&M. The [...]
Gela Shipwreck Update
We last heard of this last summer, when some piece from the shipwreck were being moved to the facility at Portsmouth to be restored. Now we seem to be getting brief notices that the restoration process has actually begun. Charles Barker (of the Mary Rose Centre) dixit: It has an elm keel, an oak frame [...]
