Underwater Archaeology of a Roman Shipwreck - Gulf of Taranto, Italy (1967)

During the summers of 1965 and 1967, I was a member of teams led by Peter Throckmorton, one of the fathers of underwater archaeology. He organized expeditions supported by the University of Pennsylvania to investigate Roman and Greek shipwrecks in the Gulf of Taranto in southern Italy. In June-July 1965 we first surveyed a Greek amphora wreck, followed by work on the Torre Sgarrata Roman sarcophagi shipwreck (late 2nd century AD). This video is a preliminary edit made from 16 mm footage I took during our return to the Torre Sgarrata wreck in the summer of 1967. It turned out to have contained a cargo of 18 unfinished marble sarcophagi, 23 large marble blocks, and several marble tiles--totaling about 170 tons. It proved to be one of the most important finds of its kind. There are scenes of the ship we used as a base above the site, followed by scenes taken of our work underwater, a helicopter visit by the Italian Navy, and the return to our base at Torre Sgarrata. NOTE: The film was taken using an old (1937) Bell & Howell 70-D camera without sound, and it was digitized by videoing it off a screen. It lacks narration and uses only free online music. But it is as far as I could get before other work intervened, and improvements will have to wait for the distant future. Suggestions are welcome! [email protected] PHOTO ALBUMS (Related) 1. For photos of our projects in 1965 & 1967 in the Gulf of Taranto, see "Italy - Underwater Archaeology in the Gulf of Taranto": https://goo.gl/photos/jDDUFMJdhWk1NKWX8 2. In September 1965 we surveyed a Villanovan Iron Age site in Lake Bolsena in northern Italy, see "Italy - North & Central Regions (Underwater Archaeology)": https://goo.gl/photos/EBMQAgVPnnbrvpMx6 3. For our research in southern Sicily in August 1965, see "Italy - Sicily & Underwater Archaeology" https://photos.app.goo.gl/DA1HA4B6G6iCKube8 PUBLICATIONS 1. Roman Shipwreck - Throckmorton (1969) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r2akS-Nfl... 2. References to some of the publications about the expeditions in Italy in 1965 & 1967 can be found in the respective photo albums noted above. 3. PDFs of my publications relating to underwater archaeology in countries other than Italy are available at www.johanreinhard.net.