The raising of the Phoenician ship in the Bay of Mazarrón well under way

The first month of work has seen archaeologists remove 30% of the Phoenician ship from the sea in Mazarrón

The recovery operation of the Phoenician ship from the sea off Mazarrón’s La Isla which began on September 13 by a team of archaeologists led by Carlos de Juan from the University of Valencia (UV) was projected to take two months, but at the halfway point of that period 30% of the wreck has been extracted, according to an update given by the scientific team.

The rough seas have forced the work to be halted for a few days but De Juan hopes to "readjust the field work in the coming dates" and points out that "we have a margin of time in which these tasks could be extended".

The archaeologists are confident the work will be completed within the planned schedule and add that so far there have been no unforeseen events that have put the operation in check.

"The previous work of study and planning was so exhaustive that there are contingency plans for all possible scenarios even the most improbable. This allows the team to continue the underwater extraction work very safely," says the mission manager.

The parts of the boat recovered are the steering section, thirteen frames, two beams and seven more portions, as well as "other boards found in the enclosure of the box," referring to the metal sarcophagus that had been placed over the ship.

The extracted wooden sections have been transported to the Arquatec laboratories, in Cartagena, dependent on the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology (Arqua), where the consolidation and restoration of the wreck will be undertaken.

Experts have applied stainless steel staples to prevent the portions of wood from fragmenting further. Some pieces of ropes and planks have also been located at the site of La Isla beach, "apparently already known by the old excavation teams".

Despite being 2,600 years old, the wood is "in a magnificent state". However, the team is working with the utmost caution in dismantling and removing the ship's hull due to the numerous visible and invisible cracks in the hull of the vessel.

"Our greatest effort is to prevent the designed portions from fragmenting into smaller units," says Carlos de Juan.

There is a month of work ahead, until mid-November, although there is the possibility that some dates will be extended "depending on the state of the sea".

Carlos de Juan clarifies that a third of the wreck has already been dismantled and removed from the water and he is confident that from now on they will be able to step on the accelerator to avoid the autumn storms.

Although halfway through the timescale with only 30% recovered, Carlos was optimistic about being able to stick to the planned timeframe.

"From the point we are approaching this percentage will grow exponentially requiring fewer hours of immersion to recover the next parts of the ship."

Once the underwater part of the operation is completed it will be the turn of the Arquatec restoration team. The wreck should be ready for public display within five years. It remains to be determined whether its final destination will be Cartagena or Mazarrón.

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