Mare-Nostrum

In the year 218 BC, on the occasion of the Second Punic War, a Roman army commanded by Cneo Cornelio Scipio disembarked in the port of Ampurias (Gerona) in order to close the land passage to the Carthaginian troops. Thus began the process that would lead to the Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula. From the Era change, the Mediterranean was pacified and the problem of piracy, which caused so much damage to maritime trade, was controlled. Roman culture and life spread throughout the Empire.

A sunken ship is an excellent historical document, since all the objects it transports are in use at the moment of sinking, which allows us to have a very reliable dating and to know that the different objects are contemporaneous.

At the entrance to the bay of Cartagena, on the island of Escombreras, the remains of six boats of different chronology have been excavated, among which the Escombreras-1 stands out. It is a typical Roman merchant ship carrying a cargo of wine packed in amphorae, tableware and kitchen ware. By its study it is known that it comes from a Neapolitan port. Surely the ship made a stopover in Ibiza before arriving at Carthago Nova, where it would sink towards the year 155-150 BC.