Maritime Archaeology
2021 Battle of the Egadi Islands Field Season Press Release: Two bronze warship rams and military equipment were discovered at the site of the Battle of the Egadi Islands (241 BC), the pivotal battle that led to the victory of Rome over Carthage during the First Punic War. In addition to the new discoveries, four …
2021 Battle of the Egadi Islands Field Season Press ReleaseRead More
The Egadi Sea Returns Priceless Treasures On July 24th, 2019, the RPM Nautical Foundation crew with the assistance of several Global Underwater Explorer (GUE) divers, recovered two ancient rams from the Battle of the Egadi Islands site. Two Montefortino bronze helmets were also made public for the first time. We were pleased to be joined by …
Battle of the Egadi Islands Project in Italian NewsRead More
Inside the daring mission to rescue ancient artefacts from the bottom of the sea Rogue treasure hunters are attempting to track down and gather lost items from the sea floor. But they aren’t the only ones: the RPM Nautical Foundation is using remote vehicles, sonar and digital mapping to get to the archaeological sites first …
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 …
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 …
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)
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 …
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 …
