Underwater archaeology : a new turning-point in Maltese archaeology

Abstract

Before 1988, the only underwater discoveries of archaeological objects which took place in Maltese waters were purely fortuitous. A noteworthy exception was the systematic excavation of the Roman shipwreck carrying a cargo of mortars at Mellieha Bay by a team led by Honor Frost, the results of which campaign were published in 1969. Those recoveries which took place with the proper permissions from the competent authorities can be counted on the fingers of one hand. A special mention must be made of the massive lead stock of a Roman anchor, the largest known example, which was recovered from Qawra Point, near St Paul's Bay in 1963. In 1961 and 1970 a diving team from the Imperial College of Science and Technology of London, made up, it seems, of engineers and doctors, recovered several archaeological objects from off Xlendi in Gozo. A report of these campaigns on what is a site of extreme importance can be consulted in the archives of the National Museum of Archaeology. A map containing the locations of the then known underwater archeological relics was published in the preliminary report of the Missione Italiana a Malta for 1964.