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ARCHIVED - Mazarron Phoenician shipwreck may finally be moved to Cartagena Museum
The 2,700-year-old ship, a protected archaeological find on the seabed off the Port of Mazarrón, may soon get the conservation it sorely needs
The wreck of the Mazarrón II, an ancient ship lying on the seabed of La Isla beach, could at last get the protection and conservation it needs as plans move ahead to transfer it to the National Museum of Marine Archaeology (ARQVA) in Cartagena.
After various studies carried out by the Regional Ministry of the Presidency, Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports, work is underway to complete the extraction, conservation and exhibition of the Mazarrón II shipwreck, which was built by the Phoenicians and dates back to the 6th or 7th century BC.
For a long time, archaeologists have argued that the ship, which was discovered in 1994, is in danger from storms and sea currents and that more effective conservation measures are needed.
It is the most complete ancient ship found in the world to date, as it has been preserved almost in its entirety from bow to stern. Inside, it still has all the fig tree frames sewn together with vegetable fibre, while the pine strakes that form the hull are joined by a system of dowels, and a vegetable fibre was used to caulk the joints.
The underwater site on the beach of La Isla in Puerto de Mazarrón was excavated between 1999 and 2001 and it was decided to keep the vessel on the seabed, while recognising its scientific and heritage importance by making it an ‘Asset of Cultural Interest’ in 2015.To guarantee its protection against waves, biological activity and plundering, a metal box was installed which has remained in place since then and is periodically checked by archaeologists, who have detected that after more than 20 years this protective structure is at risk of progressive deterioration and sinking, which compromises the preservation of the wreck in situ.
Back in 2021, a working group was set up which decided by common agreement that the best option was to extract the vessel for subsequent conservation treatment and future exhibition, as opposed to the alternative of preserving it on the seabed in perpetuity, which seriously compromises the integrity of the wreck.
The extraction and conservation of the Mazarrón II wreck was the focus of the international meeting of experts held last year at ARQVA with the participation of Unesco, which agreed that the best course of action would be to display the ship alongside the Mazarrón I, which was restored in 1993 and is already housed in the Cartagena museum.
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