Malta’s underwater world has earned it many a diving accolade in recent years. In 2019, almost 180,000 tourists chose to explore this submerged world, which brings together mysterious caves and crevices, colourful marine species, and an exciting array of wrecks ranging from Second World War aircraft to sea vessels. Lying at an impressive depth of 110 metres off the coast of Xlendi Bay in Gozo, is one such wreck, which has been explored by technical divers for the past years with the support of the Malta Airport Foundation.
Dating back to the first part of the 7th century B.C., the Phoenician Shipwreck was discovered in 2007 when an underwater survey that was being conducted by a team of scientific and archaeological experts flagged what is known as an anomaly. Upon further investigation, this anomaly turned out to be the oldest known shipwreck in the Central Mediterranean, and one of only seven Phoenician discoveries to have been made across the globe.
Given the extremely challeging depth at which this wreck is found, the Phoenician Shipwreck expedition started more than a decade after its discovery, following significant effort in bringing together the right team of experts and the adaptation of excavation methods which are used in shallower waters to much greater depths. The start of this project also marked an exciting first as divers, rather than robots, ventured beyond the 100 metre mark below the sea surface to carry out archaeological excavations in order to shed new light on the economic history and trade networks of the Central Mediterranean in the Archaic Period.