The Roman Shipwreck of Antirhodos Island

Between 1998 and 1999 three excavations were made of the wreck of an ancient ship, found in the Eastern Harbour of Alexandria on the site of the sunken ancient Portus Magnus, near the island of Antirhodos mentioned by classical authors. The ship had been found during the geophysical and archaeological surveys conducted by the IEASM. The remains of the ship lay 5 meters deep and covered an area of about 350 m². The ship was unloaded. However, the objects found on board and the layer of deposit covering the wreck, as well as details of the naval architecture and radiocarbon dating, allow us to propose a date for its sinking between the late first century BC and the first century AD. Its estimated size (30-31 x 10-11 m) – a coefficient of extension of 2.8-3.0 – is the same as that of the known trading ships of the Roman period. The identification of the various woods used in its construction has provided important evidence about the materials used in the naval architecture of the period.

The archaeological data, the study of its design and the historical considerations related to the wreck of Antirhodos, have been published by P. Sandrin, A. Belov, D. Fabre, ‘The Roman Shipwreck of Antirhodos Island in the Portus Magnus of Alexandria in Egypt’, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 42 (1), 2013, p. 44-59.

David Fabre