Now, the underwater remains of an ancient ship that was lost to battle off Sicily’s coast are alive with marine life.
Researchers from Italy discovered that there were 114 species of marine animals living together on the remains of a warship, which was lost in a battle between Romans and Carthaginians.
You will find a variety of snails, moles, worms, and other life forms in the treasure trove, which is located on the Carthaginian Ship Ram of the Sunken.
It was in the midst of a naval battle off northern Sicily, when it crashed into the Aegadian islands.
Roman Republic’s fleet destroyed Carthage’s fleet. This ended the First Punic War. But the bloodshed has produced “a rich flowering” of marine life.
Today, marine life is thriving in the submerged remains of a vessel that was destroyed during battle over 2,000 years ago.
In 2017, the ram was rediscovered from 295 feet below the surface by marine archeologists of the Soprintendenza del Mare della Regione Sicilia. Dr Sebastiano Tusa directed the team, along with divers from Global Underwater Explorers.
A recent study revealed that the ship’s remains were home to marine life.
Sandra Ricci is the last author. She’s a senior researcher from Rome’s Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (ICR). Ricci stated that although shipwrecks can often be studied in order to study colonization by aquatic organisms, few studies have looked at ships that sank after a century.
Ricci and co-workers discovered a species rich community that was both structurally and spatially intricate and contained 114 species of living invertebrates.
Nearly 375 pounds, the ram measures more than 2 feet and is about 1 inch in width at the front. The ram is hollow so it has both accumulated organisms as well as sediments.
Italian scientists discovered that the remains of a warship which was sunk in a battle between Romans & Carthaginians resulted in the coexistence of 114 marine species.
They included 33 types of gastropods and 25 bivalves as well as 33 varieties of polychaeteworms. There were also 23 bryozoans.
In a statement, Dr Edoardo Casoli of Rome’s Sapienza University stated that the coauthor was Edoardo Casoli. He said: “We conclude that organisms such as bryozoans, polychaetes and some species bivalves are primary constructors in this community. The wreck’s surface is where their colonies, tubes and valves attach.
Bryozoans and other species act as binders. Their colonies create bridges between the calcareous structures constructed by the builders. There’s also the ‘dwellers’ which can be attached, but they move freely within superstructure cavities. We don’t know the exact order these organisms colonize wrecks.
Dr Maria Flavia Gravina, the corresponding author concluded that younger shipwrecks often host a smaller community than their surroundings. This is because there are mainly long-lived larval species which can spread far.
Our ram, by comparison, is more like the natural environment: it was home to a variety of species including both long- and short-leaf larvae, as well as motile and sessile adults who can live alone or in groups.
“We have shown that old shipwrecks like our ram can be used as new sampling tools for scientists. They act effectively as an ‘ecological memories’ of colonization.
Egadi 13 is constructed out of a single, hallow piece of bronze and is engraved with an undeciphered Punic inscription – the ancient language of Carthaginians that was only found in the Mediterranean.
It measures approximately 2 feet in length, is about 1 inch at the front and weighs almost 375 pounds.
Because the ram’s hollow nature means that it can accumulate organisms and other sediments both inside and outside.
In what was called the First Punic War, Romans and Carthaginians fought each other in battle in 264 BC.
The western Mediterranean Sea was under the dominion of different civilizations.
It was in the midst of a naval battle off northern Sicily, near the Aegadian islands.
This included 33 species gastropods and 25 bivalves as well as 33 varieties of polychaeteworms. There were also 23 bryozoans.
The war on March 10 was called the Battle of Aegusa, which saw the Roman fleet sink 50 Carthaginian ships that led to the end of the First Punic War.
Accounts state that the Romans captured another 70 ships. But, it was 30 Romans’ ships lost and 50 damaged.
According to some estimates, the original fleets on both sides consisted of around 200 vessels.
Rome became the main navy of the Mediterranean Sea and Carthage was forced to compensate for war damage. Rome also took over control of all Carthaginian lands in Sicily.
THE CARTHAGINANS
Pictured is Cartage with the Carthaginian Empire’s extent in blue
Ancient Carthage was a Phoenician civilization centered around Carthage, on the Gulf of Tunis, which founded by colonists from Tyre in 814 BC.
The city-state was the world’s largest metropolitan area at its peak in the fourth century BC. It ruled the west Mediterranean and became the most powerful.
It was home to a vast mercantile network, which extended from northern Europe all the way to west Africa and west Asia.
Far less is known about Carthage’s peoples than those of ancient Rome or Greece, as most indigenous records were destroyed — along with the city — following the Third Punic War in 146 BC.
The Roman civilisation became the dominant force in the Mediterranean after their victory in that conflict.