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 …
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 …
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 …
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)
In Distress: Rescuing a Roman Merchantmen 1700 Years Later
This article takes a look at the the Levanzo I wreck, discovered by RPM Nautical Foundation in 2006. Described here is the discovery of the wrecksite, its location, its condition and the condition of the artifacts–with a particular focus on the destructive influence of dragnets–as well as the excavation of the site in 2009. Download the Article to …
In Distress: Rescuing a Roman Merchantmen 1700 Years LaterRead More
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 …
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 …