27th Roman monument discovered off the coast of Sicily – History

A bronze corner column from the 3rd century BC has been discovered in the waters of the Aegadian Islands west of Sicily, the 27th bronze corner column found since underwater excavations began 20 years ago. This fierce beak was installed on the bow of a Roman warship that participated in the Battle of Aegadia in 241 BC, the last naval battle of the First Punic War.

The pedestal was first discovered by the research vessel Hercules at a depth of 260 feet. A deep-sea submarine of the Submerged Sites Documentation Society (SDSS) subsequently explored the site and confirmed that the object was indeed a pedestal. It was salvaged and transferred to a laboratory for examination and conservation by archaeologists from the Sicily Maritime Administration.

The new site is similar to those found in previous campaigns, with relief decoration on the front side depicting a Montefortino helmet with three feathers on top. However, the marine crust covering it still prevents the verification of any inscriptions.

The Battle of the Aegates pitted 200 Roman ships against 100 Carthaginian ships, many of which were captured from Rome. The Roman navy won a decisive victory, Carthage surrendered, and the war ended. Such a large number of ships on a relatively small battlefield explains the unusually high concentration of figureheads found in the waters of the Aegates. Before the exploration of the Aegates began, only a handful of figureheads had been found.