The first week of work at the site of the Phoenician ship on La Isla (Mazarrón), which took place this Monday, has confirmed that the ship, from the 7th century BC, appears to be in a good state of conservation. But experts warn that time is short. The main fear is that the boat is increasingly exposed to the action of storms due to the shallow depth at which it is located. Due to changes in the sea currents at this point on the coast, the ship has been emerging and is now located just 1.7 meters from the surface of the water.
The mission made up of archaeologists from Spain and Italy continues to collect information about the wreck and its immediate surroundings in order to outline how its extraction from the sea will be approached. The specialists expect to have all the necessary documentation to draw up the project this week, which they hope will have it ready within a month. As part of the work in progress, the technicians are taking photographs of the vessel in order to have a three-dimensional X-ray. This information will be key to successfully approach the operation.
Initial plans being considered call for disassembling the ship’s hull into eight sections, following “known fracture lines and architectural joints.” The priority objective is that it be “in the fewest number of portions possible”, although it is not ruled out having to resort to “a mechanical separation”. The technicians consulted maintain that this method would also facilitate the subsequent treatment of the wood in the Arquatec laboratories, dependent on the National Museum of Underwater Archeology of Cartagena. Other specialists have shown their reluctance and are committed to extracting the hull in one piece (8.10 meters in length and a beam of 2.25 meters).
If the plans hold, sections of the wreck would be hauled out of the sea in urns, to ensure that the wood does not fall apart due to the changing environment. After its treatment and restoration, the Phoenician ship would be reassembled for public display. The details of the project could be known today during the visit of the acting Minister of Culture, Marcos Ortuño, to La Isla.
Divers from the Southeast Diving Center were able to visit the site last Friday, invited by the team that carries out data collection on the wreck, with funding from the Autonomous Community. The mission is led by the Department of Prehistory, Archeology and Ancient History of the University of Valencia. Among the divers who were able to admire the ship up close were the mayor Ginés Campillo and Alfonso García Bachiller, manager of the diving center, which provides support to the researchers.
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