Shipwrecks of the Mediterranean during the last century will be explored in an upcoming lecture given by Professor Sebastiano Tusa, Superintendent of Maritime Cultural Heritage of Sicily in conjunction with the The Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens and the Department of Archaeology, University of Sydney.
The lecture will look at the Mediterranean – one of the smallest seas in the world – and the role it played in different civilizations on its shores through the ages. The history of Mediterranean civilization has been deeply studied and analysed by an incredible number of scholars all around the world. As it was argued by historian Fernand Braudel, the Mediterranean wasn’t one sea but many seas. All those Mediterraneans created one of the richest cultural mosaics in the world: one that can be appreciated from many points of view, including shipbuilding, navigation and trade systems
A number of ancient shipwrecks have been found in the Mediterranean during the last century and recently also in deep waters with the use of side-scanning sonar, and a few at great depths have been investigated with ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles). Among the most ancient wrecks are those from Cape Gelidonya, Uluburun and Dokos, all which give the possibility to better understand 2nd millennium trade systems.
At Puerto de Mazarron two ancient Phoenician shipwrecks have been found. For wrecks of the Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and late Roman-Byzantine periods we can study (amongst others) Ma’agan Mikhael (Israel), Porticello (Italy, with interesting Greek bronzes), Kyrenia (Cyprus, rebuilt as a sailing replica), Capistello (Sicily), the Punic warship of Marsala, Grand Conglue (France), Spargi (Sardinia), Albenga (Italy), Antikythera (Greece), Madrague de Giens (France), San Rosore (Italy), Yassi Ada (Turkey).
The free lecture will take place on Monday 30 July from 6:00 pm at the CCANESA Conference Room, Madsen Building, Eastern Avenue, NSW.