In Albania With the RPM Nautical Foundation This article details RPMNF’s survey work along the Albanian coast in conjunction with the Albanian Institute of Archaeology, the Albanian Ministry of Defense, and INA. The goal of the surveys is search for shipwrecks and other submerged sites–history that would be otherwise lost. Described here is the incident …
Revisiting an Early Naval Incident of the Cold War
Archaeological Identification of the Bow of HMS Volage Sunk During the Corfu Channel Incident of October 22, 1946 Introduction Following the Second World War, Britain asserted that the Corfu Channel, a narrow seaway separating the island of Corfu from the Albanian coast, was an international strait. Albania, at that time a Communist State under the …
Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program The 2009 Campaign
Overview Fieldwork along the eastern Adriatic coast in 2009 marked the initial campaign conducted and coordinated under the research initiative of the Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program (ICEP). The goals of the program, introduced in this publication (Royal 2009), are to bring together numerous research institutes in an effort to investigate the eastern Adriatic coast. At the …
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2009 Expeditions in Sicily
Since 2005, RPM Nautical Foundation (RPMNF) and the Superintendent’s Office of Underwater Archaeology in Sicily (Ufficio di Soprintendenza del Mare) have conducted a survey of coastal waters off the NW Sicilian coast. Over these past years, several areas have undergone intensive multibeam survey with ROV verification of anomalies (Figure 1). Efforts around the island of …
Three Renaissance Wrecks from Turkey
Their Implications for Maritime History in the Eastern Mediterranean Abstract: This paper summarises findings from three recently investigated Renaissance wrecks in deepwater discovered in the Straits of Rhodes and interprets them in the context of that fast-changing world. Taken together, these vessels of different type provide insight into the maritime infrastructure of European mercantile trade …
Corinthian Shipwrecks
This article in the July 2009 issue of Archaeology magazine summarized the important research and diving expeditions being conducted by RPM Nautical Foundation in the waters along the Albania’s coastline. Most of the finds consist of Corinthian goods from Greek transport ships which sank in route to their destinations on the Adriatic coast. Download the …
Archaeology and Technology
Exploring History in the Mediterranean Much of the equipment utilized by RPMNF has long been featured in the efforts of ocean-based industries, such as multibeam echo sounders, ROVs, beacon positioning systems, and vessels with dynamic positioning. It is the combination of these technologies that has proved successful. By the end of 2003, after years of …
New Discoveries in Sicily
Warship ram discovered…an ancient naval battle revealed? This article describes a bronze warship ram discovered during RPM Nautical Foundation’s 2008 research expedition in Sicily. This find was of particular importance because it provided the first affirmation that the final battle of the First Punic War likely took place at this site (near Lavanzo Island). The ram …
RPM Eastern Mediterranean Deepwater Survey
During the summer of 2006, the RPM Nautical Foundation carried out extensive surveys along the coasts of Turkey, Sicily, and Malta; work continued in Sicily during the 2007 field season. The goal was to document all submerged cultural resources from as near shore as feasible to the 100 m contour. Documentation for each site included …
Discovery of Ancient Harbour Structures in Italy
Implications for the Interpretation of Nearby Sites During underwater survey around Crotone, Calabria, Italy, in 2005, structures from two harbour phases were located, possibly dating from the Archaic Greek and Roman periods. Both harbours are close to the Greek and Roman architectural remains on Capo Colonna, as well as to underwater deposits of large stone …
Finds from the 2006 Turkish Coastal Survey
Description and Analysis of the Finds from the 2006 Turkish Coastal Survey: Marmaris and Bodrum In the summer of 2006, RPM Nautical Foundation continued its survey along the south-western Turkish coast. After completing the verification of anomalies along the south-east Bozburun peninsula close to Marmaris, a new survey was conducted along the coast near Bodrum. …
2005 Remote-Sensing Survey of the South-Eastern Bozburun Peninsula, Turkey
Shipwreck Discoveries and their Analyses During a month-long survey of the coastline along the south-eastern Bozburun peninsula, Turkey, nine shipwreck sites were discovered. Of these, five have historical significance and represent a chronological range from the Roman Imperial to Renaissance periods. This article provides a description of the sites and associated artefacts, and attempts a …
2005 Remote-Sensing Survey of the South-Eastern Bozburun Peninsula, TurkeyRead More