above The discovery of a shipwreck off the coast of Gozo in 2007 provided a rare opportunity to study a Phoenician vessel. Its depth means that divers can only operate safely for a few minutes; here team members are filming high-definition footage in order to create a 3D reconstruction of the wreck.

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Excavating a Phoenician shipwreck off the coast of Gozo, Malta

The Phoenicians occupied the coast of the Levant for over 1,000 years, but knowledge of their trade network and practices remains elusive. In 2007, an ancient wreck containing a large cache of ceramic containers was discovered off Malta. This ship proved to be one of only a handful of known Phoenician vessels. Since 2014, further exploration of the site has yielded some very exciting results. Project Director Timmy Gambin and Lucy Woods reveal some of its mysteries, and the challenges of excavating a shipwreck 110m below sea level.

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World Archaeology

August 23, 2021

Originally published in CWA 88, 03/2018. In 2007, the French National Science Foundation conducted a systematic survey of the seabed on the fringes of Xlendi Bay in Gozo, and detected an anomaly that required further investigation. Much to their excitement, the anomaly proved to be the remnants of an archaic Phoenician shipwreck dating to the 7th century BC, with the upper layer of cargo lying exposed on the seabed. Dozens of amphorae were clearly visible and present in various shapes and sizes, but excavation presented a serious challenge: at a depth of 110m, divers could spend just a few minutes at the site before returning to the surface. Most diveable shipwrecks lie at around 50m belo

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