An ancient shipwreck dating back at least 2,600 years has been recovered from the waters off the coast of Spain

Spanish archaeologists have successfully removed a 2,600-year-old shipwreck from the waters off the country’s southeast coast, officials said, two decades after the ruins were initially found.

The wreck of the ancient Phoenician ship dates back to the seventh century BC, and was discovered in 1994 off the coast of Murcia in southeastern Spain, near the town of Mazarron. according to Spanish Ministry of Culture.

This wreck is now called Mazarrón II, and was one of two wrecks located in the same general area. The first, called Mazarrón I, was initially located in 1993, was recovered from the water in June 1995, and put on display at the Spanish National Museum of Underwater Archeology in 2005 after undergoing years of conservation treatments. The museum said.

Carlos de Juan, director of the excavation project, said Mazaron 2 is of particular interest to archaeologists and researchers because it is one of the few Phoenician-era shipwrecks that were discovered largely intact. In the video Jointly from the University of Valencia. The university partnered with the Regional Ministry of Culture of Murcia to carry out the excavations.

A team of 14 specialists worked with De Juan to lift the shipwreck from the sea in less than two months, with the project starting on September 13 and ending on November 7. A video shows divers carrying wooden fragments from the wreckage to the surface in pieces.

Phenicia It was an ancient civilization along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the area of ​​modern-day Lebanon, Syria and Israel, which existed from about 1500 to 300 BC although historians say The Phoenicians flourished for some time Over trade and developed an alphabet that formed the basis for those produced by ancient Greece and later Rome, many traces of the civilization were considered lost until the twentieth century.

De Juan said artifacts like Mazaron II could help shed light on Phoenician culture. In his comments to the University of Valencia, he pointed out that little is known about Phoenician naval construction, so far, despite the wealth of information about ships built by the ancient Greeks near the Mediterranean.

“Therefore, this wreck is a very important contribution to this field of study,” De Juan said. He noted that elements of Mazaron 2 resemble building designs seen in cultures throughout the surrounding region, but some are distinct and mysterious, at least for now.

Each piece of the shipwreck was transported to a laboratory at the Underwater Archeology Museum in southern Spain. The laboratory will work carefully to preserve its remains, a process that will likely take several more years.