Marsala Ship

The Marsala Punic shipwreck is a third-century-BC shipwreck of two Punic ships. The wreck was discovered in 1969, off the shore of Isola Lunga, not far from Marsala on the western coast of Sicily. It was excavated from 1971 onwards''.'' The excavation, led by Honor Frost and her team, lasted four years and revealed a substantial portion of the hull structure.

The first, more significant wreck, turned out to be an ancient military galley that was named the Marsala Punic Ship. The second ship, dubbed Sister Ship, was identified as a merchant vessel. Inscriptions in Phoenician script have made it possible to attribute the remains unquestionably to the Punics.'

Upon its discovery, the Marsala shipwreck was the sole surviving wreck from its era. The Marsala Punic Ship is believed to have played a role in the momentous Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC. The ship's state of preservation, unique features, and artifacts offered a glimpse into the advanced production techniques, and daily life aboard ancient warships. Study of the wreck has advanced current knowledge of the Carthaginian navy at the time of the First Punic War, and validated some information provided by ancient sources.'

History

Discovery and location

In 1969, Diego Boninni, the captain of a commercial dredge operating in ''Punta Scario'' off the coast of Marsala, discovered underwater formations covered with Posidonia seagrass. 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 Kapitan and British pioneer underwater archaeologist Honor Frost to the site of the underwater heaps. Frost and Kapitan returned to the area to further investigate what they had identified as ship ballast piles, evidence of ancient marine wrecks.
One of the wrecks surveyed in 1970 yielded a spearhead discovered within the ballast pile, along with a warship-type anchorfound 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.

In 1971, expedition photographer David Singmaster signalled an off-course find to Frost at a depth of . 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 vessel was dubbed the Marsala Punic Ship.

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.' 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.

In 1974, the stern and very few other remains of another ship were discovered south of the Marsala Punic Ship. The second vessel was named Sister Ship.

Description

Marsala Punic Ship

The reconstructed Marsala Punic Ship retained its original features, primarily constructed from pine and aceraceous wood, which did not respond well to chemical preservation treatments. It boasted a straight keel measuring , making the overall length nearly , with a width of , including the side gangways. Estimated at around 120 metric tons, the ship's specifications were typical for the time. The better-preserved aft section of the ship displayed fine waterlines in a "vase" shape, contradicting previous assumptions of rounded lines. 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. The ship was found to contain various types of butchered meats, such as deer, horse, beef, mutton, goat, and pork. Additionally, fragments of marijuana stalks were found, presumably for the oarsmen to chew on. 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.

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. One such vessel was captured by the Romans, who then replicated it with 200 units in record time.

Sister Ship

From the first ship, archaeologists discovered the remains of of keel on the stern and port side. On the bow of the second ship, they discovered the remains of a wooden spur and elements of Punic calligraphy.

The naval ram of the Sister Ship was discovered and reconstructed: unlike the trident-shaped rams depicted on Carthaginian coins, it is in the shape of a 3-metre-long upturned beak, made of metal-coated wood. A thick, resinous coating covered the wood of the remains of the ram, along with nails and fragments of a copper plate. Barely emerging from the water, it was connected to the bow by an ingenious fastener designed to break on impact during ramming. This mechanism would enable the attacking vessel to easily disengage from its adversary's battered side and stay afloat.

Dating and attribution

Based on carbon-14 dating of wood fragments, the ships were estimated to be from around 235 ±65 BC. It was the inscriptions in Phoenician alphabet found on the wood of the wrecks that made it possible to attribute the remains unquestionably to the Carthaginians. The Marsala ships are may have played a role in the momentous Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC. 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.

Interpretations of function

There is disagreement among specialists regarding the role of the recovered ships. Honor Frost views the ships as having been combat vessels. 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.

Resurfacing and conservation

While the Marsala Punic Ship was raised and displayed at the Regional Archaeological Museum Baglio Anserlmi in Marsala, the Sister Ship was reburied on the seafloor.

The remains of the Marsala Punic Ship were used to reconstruct a metal framework of the best-preserved section of the hull in 1979. However, due to inadequate protection, the ship suffered from corrosion, and the ravages of the elements while housed in a simple 19th-century wine shed. In 1980, a temporary measure was taken by covering the ship with a plastic tarp. Concerns over the deteriorating supports and wooden elements led the archaeological community to demand better preservation conditions. With the assistance of Danish experts, including Professor Ole Crumlin Pedersen and the Regional Conservation Center in Palermo, another reconstruction was carried out. Pedersen, having experience in reconstructing Viking ships found in Skuldelev, Denmark, collaborated on the project.

In 2019, a 3D documentation project of the Marsala Punic Ship successfully created high-resolution digital records of the Marsala Punic Ship, its associated timbers, and the original molds from the excavation. The laser scans and photogrammetry data provided valuable insights into the ship's current condition and stress points.

Significance

The shapes of the remains of the ships complement each other, in particular with a ram, and provide a unique document of the Carthaginian navy during the First Punic War. The information supplied by the excavation and the study of the Marsala Punic shipwreck corroborated naval depictions in Punic numismatics and Carthage tophet steles.

Painted markings and traces of two alphabetic sequences discovered on the ships' hulls, along with its Phoenician origin, indicate a standardized prefabricated components production process, explaining the rapid deployment of Carthaginian military fleets. Each plank of the keel was marked with an alphabetic sign intended for assembly; Punic words have also been identified. The inscriptions were found on the inner side of the keel and the hull. Each sign indicated the position of each piece. The ship's components were assembled by carpenters after being prepared by joiners. This archaeological discovery corroborates ancient historians observations regarding the remarkable speed of construction of these Punic ships, which was previously considered unlikely. Appian reported that during the Third Punic War around 147 B.C., despite the Roman siege of Carthage, the Carthaginians built several dozen triremes and quinqueremes. Since the discovery in Marsala, modern historians have been provided with further evidence supporting the assertion regarding the remarkable speed of construction of these Punic ships. This construction system also helps us understand Polybius' account of the Romans capturing a Punic ship and using it as a model to build their own fleet.

The absence of a bronze rostrum, like the one found in Athlit and the presence of remnants of a wooden beak-shaped ram covered in bronze suggest a change in naval tactics, with lateral attacks replacing frontal charges. The Romans later adopted this type of ram, along with their Liburnian vessels. The beak-shaped ram's role in flank attacks would have been to break the oars of the opposing ship, rendering it immobile, thus paving the way for a boarding using the corvus, a boarding device. Traces of fresh produce and cannabis on board provide insights into the ship's coastal reach and the well-being of the crew. The study of the Marsala Punic Ship structure permitted determining the rowing positions. Each rowing position was occupied by two individuals, and the discovered fragments suggested that there were two sets of 35 benches on each side, totaling 140, and therefore 280 rowers. With two rows of oars and two rowers per oar, the galley foreshadowed the future Roman "Liburnian" vessels, which were monoremes and much lighter. Depictions of Punic warships do not include sails or masts, suggesting that they likely relied solely on rowing and were designed for coastal defense.

See also

* Phoenician joints
* Gozo Phoenician shipwreck
* Uluburun shipwreck
* Motya

References

Citations

Sources

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* {{Cite journal , last=Sleeswyk , first=A. W. , date=1980-08-01 , title=Phoenician joints, coagmenta punicana , url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1095-9270.1980.tb01303.x , journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology , volume=9 , issue=3 , pages=243–244 , doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.1980.tb01303.x , issn=1057-2414

Ancient shipwrecks
Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
1969 archaeological discoveries
Shipwrecks of Italy
Phoenician shipwrecks
Military history of Phoenicia