Biology of Archaeology Ecological Communities & Submerged Cultural Sites All life on the Earth is intimately connected to the ocean. The vast expanse of the world’s ocean is the single largest ecosystem on the planet, encompassing dynamic habitats such as tropical coral reefs, temperate kelp forests, and deep sea thermal vents. Throughout our storied history, …
Deep-Sea Survey Off Konavle, Croatia
This article about Croatia’s Submerged Heritage details a joint research campaign undertaken by RPMNF and The International Centre For Underwater Archaeology in Zadar. The two-week survey of the seabed off the Konavle coast and the methods used, including multibeam operations, are discussed, as well as the sites discovered throughout the course of the survey. Download …
A Roman Type IVB Wooden Anchor Found in the Corfu Channel, Albania
Lead components of a wooden anchor were discovered during the 2011 field season of the Albanian Coastal Survey, part of the Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program, a co-operative effort between RPM Nautical Foundation, the Albanian Institute of Archaeology, and the Albanian Ministries of Culture and Defense. Since 2007 an intensive survey for submerged cultural material has completed… …
A Roman Type IVB Wooden Anchor Found in the Corfu Channel, AlbaniaRead More
Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program (2007–2009)
The Roman and Late Roman Finds and Their Contexts This article by Jeffery G. Royal details the Roman and Late Roman archaeological finds discovered during the 2007 – 2009 years of the Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program (ICEP). In addition, this evidence is used to argue several points as to how the Romans influenced the economy …
Project Archeorete Egadi 2011
Discovery of the archaeological site where the battle took place Egadi on the morning of March 10, 241 B.C. This article details The Archeorete Egadi project, the goal of which was to retrace the exact locations of the naval battle of March 10 of 241 B.C. between the Romans and Carthaginians. Described is this underwater …
Benthic Habitat Mapping
A multi-method approach for benthic habitat mapping of shallow coastal areas with high-resolution multibeam data Abstract The coastal waters of the Maltese Islands, central Mediterranean Sea, sustain a diversity of marine habitats and support a wide range of human activities. The islands’ shallow waters are characterised by a paucity of hydrographic and marine geo-environmental data, …
The Levanzo I Wreck, Sicily
A 4th-century AD merchantman in the service of the annona? Between 2005 and 2009 a deep-water shipwreck was located, mapped, and partially excavated by a joint team from RPM Nautical Foundation and the office of the Soprintendenza del Mare, Sicily. Located off Levanzo Island, one of the Egadi Islands off north-west Sicily, this wrecked merchantman …
The Weapon That Changed History
Evidence of Rome’s decisive victory over Carthage is discovered in the waters off Sicily In his work The Histories, the second-century B.C. Greek historian Polybius chronicles the rise of the Romans as they battle for control of the Mediterranean. The central struggle pits the Romans against their archenemies the Carthaginians, a trading superpower based in …
MBS Technology & Geology to Interpret Subsidence
Multibeam Sonar Technology and Geology to Interpret Ancient Harbor Subsidence off Crotone Peninsula, Italy Multibeam sonar (MBS) technology was developed to examine in great detail large stretches of the seafloor surface, providing accurately positioned and excellent 2-D and 3-D images of features as small as a few centimeters or covering areas as large as hundreds …
New Evidence For Old Sites
A response to the ‘reassessment’ of the survey data from Capo Colonna, Italy This response to the ‘reappraisal’ by Bartoli (2010) of the author’s original paper in this journal (2008) requires only a brief note. The subject of the discussion is the interpretation of stone formations discovered during one of RPM Nautical Foundation’s (RPMNF) surveys in Calabria, …
The Adriatic’s Uncharted Past
Once closed to exploration, the waters off the Albanian coast begin to give up their secrets The R/V Hercules is anchored in the Adriatic Sea near Saranda, Albania, and the crew of the 110-foot-long research vessel is at attention. “Back deck, stand clear of the wind!” RPM Nautical Foundation (RPMNF) founder George Robb bellows into …
The Finale – Rome Against Carthage
This feature in Antike Welt (Ancient World, Journal of Archaeology and Cultural History) focuses on the last battle between Rome and Carthage and the archaeological finds, specifically the ram discovered by RPM Nautical Foundation. Download the Article to Learn More (in German)