Levanzo, new findings at the Battle of the Egadi site

New archaeological finds in the sea of Levanzo (Trapani), site of the battle of the Egadi Islands: the search campaign taking place these days has made possible the recovery of two bronze rostrums named “Egadi 26” and “Egadi 27.” They were spotted on a seabed of about 80 meters and recovered with the help of the research ship Hercules. In this latest campaign, divers recovered fifteen helmets of the Montefortino type, twenty paragnatids (the cheek and face guards of soldiers accompanying the helmets), a sword, a hundred bronze coins and, for the first time in more than two decades of research, seven silver coins.

All finds have been transferred to the first intervention laboratory set up at the former Stabilimento Florio in Favignana and are already being examined by archaeologists from the Superintendence of the Sea. Research activities in the stretch of sea between Levanzo and Favignana are being conducted by a team formed by the Sicilian Region’s Superintendence of the Sea, the U.S. RPM Nautical Foundation and SDSS - The Society for Documentation of Submerged Sites.

“The Egadi seabed,” said Regional Councillor for Cultural Heritage Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, “once again proves to be a valuable treasure chest of information for understanding the naval clash between the Romans and Carthaginians. Sebastiano Tusa’s discovery continues to this day to receive increasingly important confirmations, corroborating the intuition of the archaeologist who died prematurely in 2019 that had allowed the identification of the theater of the battle that sanctioned the dominance of the Romans over the Mediterranean.”

Twenty-four rostrums have been found since the early 2000s. Deadly weapons of destruction that, applied to the bows of warships, rammed enemy ships, causing them to sink. Thirty helmets of the Montefortino type, which belonged to Roman soldiers, two swords, some coins and a considerable number of amphorae have also been identified in the last two decades.

The Battle of the Egadi, fought in 241 B.C., marked the end to the First Punic War with the clash between the Carthaginian and Roman fleets northwest of the island of Levanzo. For some years now, purely instrumental research conducted in collaboration with the RPM has been joined by research using deep-sea divers from the SDSS, which, thanks to their specialization in deep-sea research, has enabled the identification and recovery of important finds.

Levanzo, new findings at the Battle of the Egadi site

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