Linea Directa 200 LEFT COL CAR INSURANCE

PROPERTY SEARCH

DomusVi Ciudad de Murcia residential cross content 1200

Date Published: 21/06/2023

Expert divers say Mazarron Phoenician ship has a good chance of being rescued

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The archaeologists believe that there are “guarantees of success” for the recovery of the Mazarrón II shipwreck

Expert divers say Mazarron Phoenician ship has a good chance of being rescued

Important research is being carried out on the wreck of the Phoenician boat Mazarrón II in the waters off the beach of La Isla to determine how best to conserve and preserve the 6th-century-BC wreckage in future, and whether it will be possible to move it to a museum.

The acting Councillor for the Presidency, Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports in Mazarrón, Marcos Ortuño, who has visited the Playa de la Isla beach together with the deputy mayor Gaspar Miras and the Councillor for Historical Heritage, Jorge Durán, said “The Phoenician wreck Mazarrón II occupies a prominent place in the heritage of underwater archaeology in the Region of Murcia, which is why we continue to take steps in its recovery and conservation.”

There have been noises about moving the ship to the Marine Museum in Cartagena to protect it from degradation due to waves and sea conditions, but Mazarrón Deputy Mayor Gaspar Miras is determined that it stay in a specially designed centre in Mazarrón.

Wherever it ends up going, it will not be until after the summer, probably in October, when the results report on the real state of conservation of the Mazarrón II wreck will be finalised and which will allow any future actions to be proposed for its protection, outlining a “specific methodological strategy with an adjusted treatment and preservation programme”.

This is the estimate of the team of experts in underwater archaeology who began work to assess the site this month. The work they are now carrying out, as laid out in the agreement signed by the regional government and the University of Valencia, is a meticulous search of the vessel with the aim of drawing up a map of cracks and fissures.

This has allowed the team to document new, hitherto unknown details about the architecture and construction of the ship. According to the first observations made, the condition is satisfactory despite the high degree of fragmentation of the wood, and there are “guarantees of success” for its recovery in portions, taking advantage of the existing cracks and fissures, as well as the frame of the boat.

Armed with this information, they believe they may be able to take the boat apart along the existing cracks and lines, to later put it back together on land.

So far, the technicians have spent 160 hours diving underwater to assess the state of the wreck, and will spend almost 400 hours more during the remaining two weeks of work, with the participation of nine technicians from the University of Valencia.

The team is made up of a scientific director, Carlos de Juan, a specialist in naval architecture, seven archaeologists and a conservationist. Of these, eight go down into the water scuba diving and one remains at the base camp receiving the images on the two high-capacity computers they have to construct a very precise 3D map that shows the current state of the ship.

Along with the team from the University of Valencia, three archaeologists from the ARQVA marine museum and two Italian specialists are collaborating, as well as experts from other national research centres linked to underwater heritage. All of this is within the framework of a project sponsored by the international scientific community and UNESCO.

Once the data collection has been completed, the interpretation and analysis of the information obtained will begin in order to evaluate its condition and the most suitable methodology for its extraction and subsequent recovery under the conditions established by the experts.