Bajo de la Campana Phoenician shipwreck

Bajo de la Campana Phoenician shipwreck

Elephant tusks from the Phoenician wreck of the Bajo de la Campana
Shown within Spain
Location	Off the coast of La Manga del Mar Menor
Region	Murcia, Spain
Coordinates	37°44′11″N 0°41′33″W
Altitude	−16 m (−52 ft)
Type	Site of a sunken ship
Length	20 m (66 ft)
Width	20 m (66 ft)
History
Builder	Phoenicians
Founded	7th century BC
Abandoned	Sank late 7th century BC
Periods	Iron Age
Associated with	Crew of the merchant vessel
Site notes
Discovered	1958
Excavation dates	Excavation dives 2007 to 2011
Archaeologists	Mark Polzer and Juan Piñedo Reyes, directors
Condition	Conservation, sampling and study are ongoing
Ownership	Spain

The Bajo de la Campana Phoenician shipwreck is a seventh-century-BC shipwreck of a Phoenician trade ship found at Bajo de la Campana, a submerged rock reef near Cartagena, Spain. This shipwreck was accidentally discovered in the 1950s. It is the earliest Phoenician shipwreck to date to undergo an archaeological excavation. Over the course of four field seasons, researchers conducted almost 4,000 dives and over 300 hours of exploration. The sunken ship spilled its cargo in and around an underwater cave at the edge of the Bajo reef. Among the artifacts recovered were fragments of the ship's hull, along with terracotta vessels, including amphoras, bowls, and plates. Among the cargo were elephant ivory tusks, indicating Phoenician trade connections with regions where elephants were native. Additionally, the discovery of tin ingots, copper ingots, and galena nuggets suggests the ship's involvement in long-distance trade networks. The cargo contained also pine cones, double-sided wooden combs, amber nodules from the Baltic, and various raw materials such as timber, and resin. Provisions and personal items of the crew were also recovered from the wreck, such as a gaming piece, a whetstone with Phoenician graffiti, and nuts and seeds. The Bajo de la Campana shipwreck belonged to Phoenician traders from the Eastern Mediterranean.

Location and discovery

The Bajo de la Campana, located approximately 2.5 km (1.6 mi) offshore from La Manga del Mar Menor, consists of three geological formations: Isla Grosa, El Farallón rock, and La Laja reef. La Laja, also known as the Bajo de la Campana, is a shallow reef rising from a depth of about 16 m (52 feet) to within 2 m (6.6 feet) of the water’s surface, making it a navigational hazard. Shipwreck debris surrounding the Bajo indicates its historical danger. Archaeological material was first discovered at the site in 1958 by commercial salvage divers and later by recreational divers. The Spanish Ministry of Culture conducted inspections in 1972 and 1988, leading to the conclusion that the recovered artifacts represented three distinct shipwrecks from different periods: late seventh-century BC Phoenician, second-century BC Punic, and first-century AD Roman. In 2006, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) initiated an investigation and formalized a cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Spain in 2007. A survey conducted by INA in 2007 on the eastern side of the Bajo confirmed previous findings and indicated that most of the Phoenician ship wreckage remained buried beneath rocks, sediment, and seagrass. As a result, a full-scale excavation and study were launched in 2008. The surveyed area measured approximately 20 m × 20 m (66 ft × 66 ft); it is bordered along its western edge by the sheer face of the Bajo de la Campana which contains a shallow cave in the northwestern corner, where many of the shipwreck finds were located.

Ship remains

Little has survived of the Phoenician ship. The remains of the ship and its cargo were concentrated primarily along the northern edge of the site, including the cave and crevice area. Excavations have yielded ballast stones used as weights to provide stability to the ship, dunnage material used to keep the cargo in place, and only one fragment of hull wood, likely softwood, measuring approximately 43 cm (17 inches) long, 11 cm (4.3 inches) wide, and 35 mm (1.4 inches) thick. This fragment preserves part of a scarf joint and most of one mortise, with a tenon peg hole.

Cargo

Raw materials

The ship's cargo, predominantly consisting of raw materials includes 64 elephant tusks, seven of which bear Phoenician inscriptions. Readings of the ivory inscriptions identified at least two male personal names, as well as morphemes that may indicate the individuals’ rank or function. Spanish archaeologist Fernando Lopez advances that the names are of the suppliers of the ivory. The cargo also contained raw metals, including 150 ingots of tin and eleven of copper, along with 10,000 galena nuggets used in silver extraction. The relatively small quantity of ingots suggests the shipment may have been tailored for a specific workshop rather than bulk supply. Additionally, various pieces indicating spillage and slag from metal smelting operations have been recovered. Additional raw material findings include two small lumps of Baltic amber, logs of chopped wood, thick globs of dark resin, and an earthen material such as potting clay or red ochre.

Manufactured goods and luxury items

Elephant tusks with Phoenician inscriptions from the Bajo de la Campana Phoenician shipwreck on display in Rome

The ship carried a diverse range of Phoenician pottery, including amphoras, plates, bowls, tripods, an oil lamp, and various jugs and pitchers. Among the amphoras found are Vuillemot type R-1 and Cintas type 268. Vuillemot type R-1, produced in colonial workshops in Spain and North Africa, was distributed widely from the Atlantic coast of Morocco to Sicily. Fragments of these amphoras from Bajo de la Campana indicate production in the region of Málaga. Cintas type 268 amphoras, with an ovoid shape, were produced in Phoenician settlements on central Mediterranean islands and along the North African coast, with limited distribution in the western colonies, mainly Ibiza and the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Also found were small ceramic bottles, or unguentaria, used for perfumed oils, with examples from Archaic-period sites being imports from Phoenicia proper. These bottles were widely distributed across southern Spain and were primarily used in the 8th century BC, with some continuing into the 7th century BC. The bottles discovered at the Bajo de la Campana likely date to the end of the 7th century BC.

Excavations have revealed several exotic objects, including an ivory knife handle, wooden combs, a stone pedestal, a pale-green stone block, a bronze object, and various bronze and wooden furniture elements. The carved ivory knife handle, though slightly damaged, retains an elegant design and features a long slot for the blade tang and rivets. The wooden combs, broken and poorly preserved, are made from boxwood and decorated with simple linear patterns. The tripartite limestone pedestal stands 72 cm (28 inches) tall when assembled, with a column, a capital with volutes, and abacus. Another stone object is a pale-green stone block, likely a whetstone used for sharpening bronze and iron tools. A singular bronze object in the shape of a right forearm holding a stylized lotus blossom is possibly part of a ceremonial staff or other significant object. The bronze furniture elements include legs, corner fittings, and wooden pieces, likely parts of chairs, stools, or beds. The varied array of goods in the cargo, including raw materials, manufactured goods, and luxury items, sourced from various geographical locations, suggest the ship's involvement in long-distance trade networks.

See also

• Gozo Phoenician shipwreck – Phoenician shipwreck near the coast of Malta
• Marsala Punic shipwreck – 3rd century BC shipwreck off Sicily
• Phoenician joints – Wood joinery technique used in shipbuilding

References

Sources

• Antonelli, Federica; Ricci, Sandra; Davidde Petriaggi, Barbara; Buendía Ortuño, Milagros (2019). "Study of the bioerosion of Phoenicianelephant tusks from the shipwreck of Bajo de la Campana: lots of hypotheses, fewcertainties". Facies. 65 (2): 10. Bibcode:2019Faci...65...10A. doi:10.1007/s10347-019-0553-8. ISSN 1612-4820.
• Delgado, James P. (2013). "History's 10 greatest wrecks - Bajo de la Campana". www.archaeology.org. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
• Institute of Nautical Archaeology (2020). "Bajo de la Campana Iron Age Shipwreck Excavation". Institute of Nautical Archaeology. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
• López Pardo, Fernando (2015) [1992]. "Mogador, 'factoría extrema' y la cuestión del comercio fenicio en la costa atlántica africana". Gerión (in Spanish). 33 (33): 55–76. doi:10.5209/rev_GERI.2015.49050. ISSN 0213-0181.
• Polzer, Mark E. (2009). The Iron Age Phoenician shipwreck excavation at Bajo de la Campana, Spain: preliminary report from the field. Between Continents: Twelfth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology. Vol. 12. pp. 27–36.
• Polzer, Mark E. (2014). Aruz, Joan; Sarah B., Graff; Rakic, Yelena (eds.). "The Bajo de la Campana shipwreck and colonial trade in Phoenician Spain". Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art: 230–242. ISBN 9781588395382. OCLC 881612507.