An oceanographic vessel recovers about twenty Roman amphorae at 1,400 meters deep in the waters of Formentera

PalmaThe team from the Archaeological Museum of Ibiza and Formentera (MAEF) has carried out the reception and transfer to its archaeological warehouse of a set of approximately 26 Roman amphorae and 17 boxes of fragmented ceramic material. It is a fairly homogeneous set from a typological point of view, Dressel 20 type Roman amphorae for the transport of oil, but, in this case, with a multitude of stamps and marks that will provide a lot of information in their study.

This archaeological set was recovered this week by chance by the vessel Miguel Oliver while it was performing a cast in waters south of the coast of Formentera, in the context of the Medits campaign –an international oceanographic and fisheries research program in the Mediterranean Sea dedicated to evaluating the status of marine resources and ecosystems–, coordinated by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

From the very first moment the discovery became known, CAIB staff have worked to determine in which jurisdictional waters it took place and to clarify the steps to be followed. Once it was determined that these are state-owned waters, the Government of the Balearic Islands, through the Directorate General for Culture, mobilized the MAEF team and made the necessary tools available for the transfer of the material to the museum.

Underwater Heritage Service

The transfer of the find to the Archaeological Museum of Ibiza and Formentera has been authorized by the Underwater Heritage Service, dependent on the Ministry of Culture of the Spanish Government, given the nature of the located goods and the circumstances of the discovery.

In this sense, it must be remembered that, as established by Law 16/85, of June 25, on Spanish historical heritage, regarding casual finds, the extracted goods will be deposited as quickly as possible in the nearest museum.

Inventory

In this way, the Ministry has authorized the temporary deposit of the assets at the MAEF, which will carry out an inventory of the delivered assets and a study of their state of conservation. The necessary measures for the stabilization of the assets will be established at the deposit, in addition to their permanent deposit.

At this point, it must be said that despite being very sensitive underwater archaeological material, the state of conservation is stable thanks to the fact that the ship's crew kept the set of amphorae in constant hydration by means of a hose that kept them moist. And, once the material was transferred to the MAEF warehouse, the desalination and stabilization tasks began, piece by piece, in suitable water tanks for their definitive restoration and consolidation.

Work to ensure the preservation of the pieces in good condition will continue throughout this Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, starting next week, work is expected to continue so that the material can be stabilized and deposited permanently in the museum.

Special relevance

Amphora finds in marine environments are common in the Islands and, especially, in the waters of Formentera in recent years. But this collection takes on special relevance due to its volume, good state of conservation, and its exceptional provenance: an archaeological site at a depth of 1,400 meters.