Spanish Scientists Seek to Save 2,500-Year-Old Phoenician Shipwreck

A group of Spanish archaeologists has developed detailed plans to salvage a 2,500-year-old Phoenician shipwreck, aiming to find the best ways to recover it from the sea before it is permanently destroyed by storms.

The ship, named “Matharón II,” measuring 8 meters in length, is a unique piece that showcases ancient maritime engineering. It was named after the municipality of Matharón in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain, where it was discovered off the coast.

Nine experts from the University of Valencia spent over two weeks in June diving 560 hours to record all the cracks and fissures in the ship, which is located 60 meters from the Playa de la Isla beach in Matharón. Later this year, the experts will recommend how to protect and potentially recover the wreck, possibly in the coming summer.

Archaeologist Carlos de Juan, from the Institute of Maritime Archaeology at the University of Valencia, stated that the wreckage could be extracted piece by piece, according to the existing cracks, and then reassembled outside of the water.

He added to Reuters, “It is better to save the ship, restore it, and exhibit it in a museum for the public to enjoy rather than worrying every time a big storm hits.”