Mallorca Roman wreck amphora goes on show in Cartagena
Mallorca’s Roman shipwreck off Palma beach has a new exhibit in Cartagena: an inscribed amphora goes on show there for six months. The National Museum of Underwater Archaeology will display the vessel with its lid, the Council of Mallorca said on Thursday, 15 October. A storm exposed the ses Fontanelles wreck in 2019.
The writing on the jar
The amphora is one of about 300 carried by the ship. Two lines of painted writing survive near its top. One gives the by-names of two people; the other names its contents: liquamen, a liquid sauce made from small fish and similar to garum.
The mortar that sealed the lid also bears a stamp. It pairs a Christian symbol with the names of two members of the Flavia family. No other known Mediterranean shipwreck has yielded more painted inscriptions of this kind than ses Fontanelles.
What remains on Mallorca
The Roman merchant ship set out from the area around modern-day Cartagena and sank off Palma beach about 1,700 years ago. Its cargo included amphorae for fish sauce, oil and wine.
The Council of Mallorca finished removing the wreck on 29 June, after a four-month archaeological operation. The other finds are submerged in desalination pools at Sant Carles Castle on Mallorca, where they are due to remain for about a year and a half.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com