Did you know that hidden beneath the water and sediment of Cala Busquets, within the harbour of Ciutadella, there are at least 5 different shipwrecks waiting to be fully explored dating back to Roman times? A team of divers from the Menorca Shipwreck Project arrived in October to begin a multi-year archaeological project to catalogue the site and to excavate an approximately 300-year-old shipwreck. It is a collaboration between The Explorers Club based in New York, Spanish Archaeologists, local museum staff and cultural heritage officials.
Over the past decade, small discoveries during construction in the harbour have led to the designation of the entire port as an underwater archaeological site. At a depth of roughly 4 meters (20 feet), the port area has been described as an ‘underwater museum’ with dozens of wrecks from Roman times through the medieval era to modern day. One reason for the concentration of wrecks is because of the environmental phenomenon called the rissaga. These sudden oscillations due to a combination of wind and tide cause havoc in the narrow harbour, when the water suddenly drains away and then races back, grounding and sinking ships and boats. We have seen the damage it has done in the last 20 years and so you can only imagine the disasters that have occurred over thousands of years.
The Shipwreck Project team gave two talks on the background to the excavation, one at the Museu Can Saura in Ciutadella and one at the Museu de Menorca in Mahon. Trevor Wallace (pictured) from the Explorers Club introduced the event bringing along his Explorers Club flag and then Xavier Aguelo, Archaeology Co-Director, talked us through the surveys that have been carried out at the site. Ceramics, remains of various ships’ hulls, and amphorae were found in 2006/7 and in 2009/11 systematic surveys were carried out of three different areas of 1m2. They also collected oral information from local sailors and divers. These included anecdotal reports of a local woman seen wearing a roman ring! The team implores the public that the tampering or removal of any archaeological material of any kind is not only damaging to the goals of the expedition but also illegal. This project is conducted with an Archaeological intervention permit, Maritime Captaincy Permit, and Permit from the Balearic Islands Harbour Authority. Many artifacts can be seen in the museum of Menorca as well as manifests and ledgers recording shipwrecks when the island was under Spanish rule (see picture).
There are three wrecks of interest that have been identified in preliminary surveys. There is a Roman Shipwreck which contained 20 amphorae in the style of the Baetica Region (1st Century CE, South of Spain), a medieval shipwreck from the13-1400s, and an 18th century shipwreck. It is possible there could also be remains of ships from as far back as the Punic era (3rd or 4th centuries before Christ), but further research is needed to corroborate this.
Trevor Wallace
The Menorca Shipwreck Project
Excavation of the 18th Century Ship, Menorca
Excavation of the 18th Century Ship
The 18th century ship appears to be a Pinque or Pink vessel commonly used for maritime trade. It would have had lateen sails and it was around 23m in length. There are two theories about its origin, the first is that the wreck dates to a period in Spanish history when the crown was actively fighting wars of independence in the New World in the late 1700s. The presence of musket balls could indicate that this ship was bound for the New World to resupply armaments when it sunk. The second idea is that it is a Genovese
merchant ship from the early 1700s that was transporting textiles. The aim of this expedition is to find out which of these theories is correct. The disruption from the Rissagas has caused the artifacts from all the different time periods to shift within the sediments but this study is focusing on the top layer of the 18th century shipwreck. The team of archaeologists have used vacuums to remove the sediment and expose the wood of the hull. They have started to document this first layer and extract artifacts while a surface team coordinated the documentation and conservation. The project was also runas a Field School for expedition members, some of them new to diving and to archaeology, giving them the opportunity to learn the basics of both these aspects in a series of workshops and technical labs.
The team arrived in Menorca on 21st October and the field school ran until 4th of November. The archaeologists then continued to work on the excavation, backfilling, and post processing until the permits concluded on November 20th. It was unfortunate that the project coincided with the storms that arrived in Menorca at the end of October making the work more difficult and badly affecting visibility at the start of the project.
In 2024 and beyond the team would like to seek permission from the Government to remove the wreck and move it to the museum but if this is not possible it will be covered up again for protection. A 3D model will also be made of every wreck in Busquets.
Members of the Team
The underwater excavation has the collaboration of the Menorca Council, the Menorca and Can Saura Museums and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, but the main source of funding is from The Explorers Club and The Ocean Foundation.
Trevor Wallace
Vice President of Research and Education at The Explorers Club is the Expedition and Field School Leader. Trevor is a filmmaker and explorer and has participated in 5 flag expeditions in Siberia, India, and Panama. He has had his work featured by National Geographic, CNN, and Discovery Channel. In 2018 he was awarded ‘New Explorer of the Year’ alongside Dr. Gino Caspari and other awardees, Apollo Astronaut Capt. Jim Lovell, and Jeff Bezos.
Dr. Carlos Velasco
Is Field School Divemaster and archaeologist. Carlos has a PhD in Prehistoric Archeology working for 20 years on the Ancient Bronze Age and the Origins of Complex Societies in the Western Mediterranean.
Xavier Aguelo
Is the Scientific Lead and Metal Specialist. Xavier has 25 years of experience in diving, surveying and excavating in the Balearic Islands. Xavier has collaborated with the Museum of Menorca, the Center for Underwater Archeology of Catalonia (CASC) and co-directed the underwater excavations of the Binissafúller and Calescoves wrecks.
Octavi Pons
Is a Pottery Specialist and since 1996 he has coordinated the work for the elaboration of an underwater archaeological chart of Menorca. He is a staff archaeologist at the Museum of Menorca.
Dr. Marcel Pujol
Is a Naval Architecture Specialist and since 1983, he has participated in archaeological excavations, both on land
and underwater in Menorca. Since 1994 he has been professor of Nautical and Underwater Archeology at the University of Barcelona and is currently at the University of Cadis.
Carolina Godoy
Is the Field School Coordinator with a degree in tourism and fluency in 6 languages. She is an experienced diver
and has worked in the protection of the marine environment and its biodiversity for the last five years.
Bruno Parés
Is the Technical Lead and a terrestrial and underwater archaeologist specializing in 3D documentation and heritage visualization.
The Explorers Club
The Explorers Club was founded in 1904 and has its HQ in New York City with a community around the world. The Explorers Club has been supporting scientific expeditions of all disciplines for over a century. Some of their most famous expeditions include:
NORTH POLE
In 1909 Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, their Inuit guide Ootah, and three other Inuit named Ooqueah, Seegloo, and Egigingwah, reached the North Pole—or at least came close.
SOUTH POLE
On 4 December 1911, Amundsen and his team became the first to reach the South Pole. At approximately 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the team simultaneously shouted “Halt!” and raised the Norwegian Flag.
HIGHEST POINT ON EARTH THE SUMMIT OF MT. EVEREST
On May 29, 1953, Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund P. Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.
1960 DEEPEST POINT ON EARTH MARIANA TRENCH
On January 23, 1960, US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard set a record for the deepest descent below the ocean’s surface aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste.
SURFACE OF THE MOON APOLLO
11 on July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin walked on the Moon while Columbia command module pilot Michael Collins orbited.
For more information watch Trevor Wallace’s webinar available on the website www.menorcashipwreckproject.com/
www.museudemenorca.com/en/ learn-and- research/underwater-archaeological-maps-of-menorca/203
www.explorers.org
