those from the wreck of Mahdia. The amphorae, which numbered 

 about two thousand, probably date from the first century B.C. 

 Regrettably, there is nothing left to be seen at Antheor today, save 

 the broken and scattered debris left by hundreds of diving tourists 

 searching for souvenirs. 



One of the most exciting wrecks found to date is the thousand- 

 ton Roman freighter salvaged by Cousteau at Grand Congloue, a 

 tiny limestone islet near Marseilles. It was discovered by standard 

 divers working on a new sewer for Marseilles, and Cousteau began 

 excavating it in August 1952. In about 140 feet of water, the wreck 

 appeared to be a weed-covered grave from which the necks of 

 amphorae and assorted pottery projected. The mound was 1 20 feet 

 long and 12 feet wide. 



Cousteau managed to recruit a volunteer salvage team and a 

 large air-lift was installed in the Calypso. But the wreck was so close 

 to the cliff wall that after several setbacks from rough seas they 

 decided to suspend the air-lift from a boom on shore. This problem 

 solved, they immediately met another. When they had cleared away 

 the mud they found that several huge chunks of the cliff had fallen 

 onto the wreck, some of them weighing more than seven tons. 

 After several attempts to split the boulders with small charges of 

 plastic explosive failed, they resorted to large charges tamped into 

 drilled holes. The results were just what they had hoped for, 

 leaving the wreck exposed and undamaged. Next began the work 

 of examining the cargo. More than a thousand amphorae were 

 raised during several thousand dives, together with hundreds of 

 pots, thousands of pieces of black dinnerware, and many objects 

 of lead. The date for this wreck seems to be about 250 B.C., and its 

 significance is that it is one of the oldest seagoing ships yet dis- 

 covered. 



Another wreck of interest, because of the salvage technique 

 used, is off Spargi. The archipelago of Magdalena, between Corsica 

 and Sardinia, is on the ancient route from Etruria and Campania to 

 the colonies on Sardinia, and possibly to the old ports of Massilia 

 and Narbo. The navigation here is tricky and dangerous; treacher- 

 ous rocks cause many wrecks even today. Just south of the Isola 

 di Spargi lies a secca, and on the west of the secca is a pinnacle of 

 rock rising from a depth of sixty feet to within nine feet of the 

 surface. About three hundred feet from the danger point is the last 

 resting place of the wreck of Spargi. 



The cargo consisted of a batch of amphorae thirty-three feet by 

 twenty-four feet, all aligned in the same direction and stacked in 

 layers. The first layer contained 1 20 amphorae, and in a sandy area 

 nearby were scattered black varnished ceramics and many plates 

 and cups. In 1957, Gianni Roghi began to work the wreck with a 

 team of seven divers. His method was to lay a yellow plastic tape 

 grid with two-meter squares. Each square was marked by black 

 letters written on a white plate, and if an amphora was removed a 

 tag was tied to the grid to mark the exact position. The wreck has 

 been dated at about 120 to 100 B.C. Although the excavation was 

 still in progress when this was written, Roghi's work on it is per- 

 haps the most thorough and accurate survey of any wreck to date. 



These four wrecks — at Mahdia, Antheor, Grand Congloue, and 

 Spargi — all appear to be of about the same period. And they are all 

 Roman cargo wrecks. It may seem odd, but not one warship of the 



Between 120 and 100 B.C. a Roman cargo ship 

 struck a rock and sank off the coast of Spargi 

 between Corsica and Sardinia. When he began 

 salvaging the wreck in 1957, Gianni Roghi iaid 

 down a grid of plastic tapes so that he could 

 mark the position of each amphora in the cargo. 

 This diagram shows a variety of activities 

 carried out during the salvage operation. 



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