Phoenician ship

Facing Isla beach, two shipwrecks are located; the oldest ones found in the Mediterranean sea to date.

From ship called Mazarrón 1, only the keel and some ribs and nauticas survived.

The second one, Mazarrón 2 , is almost complete and remains ‘in situ’, opposite Isla beach. With 8.10 m length and 2.25 beam, this ship kept all the cargo, which consisted mainly of lead mineral ingots.

Its anchor, shank-stock and fluke type is the oldest known in the Mediterranean sea up to date.

The Phoenician ships from Isla beach, from VII BC century, are a source of valuable information to know more about Phoenician ship building techniques, as well as shipments and maritime trade.

The discovery of Mazarrón 1 took place in 1988, while the archaeological diggings took place between 1993 and 2000 and were done by the National Center of Underwater Archaelogical Investigations (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Arqueológicas Subacuáticas, CNIAS).

Mazarrón 2 is currently underwater, covered with a metallic structure for protection purposes.