More warship rams from the Battle of the Aegates found near Sicily

Three more bronze rostra - one of which has already been retrieved - from the Battle of the Aegates (Italian Battaglia delle Isole Egadi) have been found at a depth of 85 metres, off the coast of the island of Levanzo, the smallest of the three main Aegadian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily, Italy.

Credit: La Repubblica

The discovery is the result of collaboration between the Superintendence of the Sea, the operational arm of the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage, and the U.S. 'Rpm Nautical Foundation', aimed at deepening underwater research in the area overlooking the archipelago of Trapani.

The deadly weapons of war, mounted in the front of warships for ramming and sinking enemy ships, are added to the thirteen rostrums already recovered in previous campaigns.

Credit: La Repubblica

The archaeological research in the deep sea, which began in 2004, has allowed the identification and recovery of eleven Roman and two Carthaginian rostrums, twenty-one Roman helmets of the Montefortino type, as well as a large number of amphorae and other artefacts.

Credit: La Repubblica

The Battle of the Aegates was fought off the Aegadian Islands, off the western coast of the island of Sicily on 10 March 241 BC. It was the final naval battle fought between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic during the First Punic War.

Source: La Repubblica [August 13, 2018]

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