The Skerki Banks, also known as the Skerki Channel, are an area of relatively shallow open sea, situated in the central

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

in the

Strait of Sicily The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...

between

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. Known reefs in the area include the Esquirques, two large rocky reefs of volcanic origin surrounded by a sandbank, and Keith's Reef. Since 1988, various archaeological surveys have located a concentration of ancient shipwrecks in the area. The site of these ancient wrecks was discovered by

Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of ...

and later explored by both Ballard and

Anna Marguerite McCann Anna Marguerite McCann (May 11, 1933 – February 12, 2017) was an American art historian and archaeologist. She is known for being an early influencer—and the first American woman—in the field of underwater archaeology, beginning in the 19 ...

. The area is adjacent to the Skerki Narrows between Sicily and

Cape Bon Cape Bon ("Good Cape") is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia, also known as Ras at-Taib ( ar, الرأس الطيب), Sharīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli; Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Ra ...

and was known as "Bomb Alley" to Allied sailors during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

due to its proximity to Axis air bases and the difficulty of protecting convoys from air attack. On 2 December 1942 it was the site of the Battle of Skerki Bank, where a squadron of Allied cruisers destroyed an Italian convoy. In September 2022,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

s from eight countries started collaborating with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

to explore the Skerki Banks—particularly the unexplored Tunisian side of it—and look for possible shipwrecks on the seafloor.

References

Reefs of the Mediterranean Sea {{marine-geo-stub