Roman ship raised intact to the surface in Spain for the first time in history

For the first time, Spain has successfully raised an intact Roman ship from the seabed. The vessel, known as Ses Fontanelles, is a fourth-century A.D. merchant ship that sank approximately 1,700 years ago in the Bay of Palma, Mallorca. Its recovery was successfully completed after four months of complex underwater archaeological operations.

Never before has an entire Roman vessel been recovered intact in Spain. According to researchers, the achievement offers an unprecedented opportunity to study navigation, maritime trade, and shipbuilding in the Mediterranean during Late Antiquity in remarkable detail.

A milestone in underwater archaeology

The recovery effort was led by the Arqueomallornauta team in collaboration with specialists from several Spanish universities and divers from the Spanish Navy. Over the course of several months, archaeologists carefully dismantled and recovered the ship piece by piece, using custom-molded fiberglass support structures formed underwater to preserve the hull during the lifting process. In total, more than 600 artifacts were recovered, including wooden hull fragments and cargo remains. Together, these finds will allow researchers to reconstruct nearly the entire history of the vessel.

The Ses Fontanelles was a merchant ship measuring about 39 feet long with a beam of approximately 16 feet. It departed from the Cartagena region carrying more than 300 amphorae loaded with products such as olive oil, wine, and fermented fish sauces, one of the Roman Empire’s most important commercial exports. Researchers believe the ship was bound for Rome or another major port in the western Mediterranean.

A powerful storm, however, caught the vessel while it was sailing through the Bay of Palma, causing it to sink near the area known as Ses Fontanelles. Buried beneath the sand for centuries, the wreck remained hidden until a storm in 2019 disturbed the seafloor, exposing several amphora necks that were spotted by a diver by chance.

A remarkable discovery

One of the discovery’s greatest scientific strengths is the exceptional preservation of its cargo. Many of the amphorae were still sealed with their original stoppers and contained traces of their contents. They also bore numerous painted inscriptions known as tituli picti, commercial markings that have allowed researchers to identify the names of merchants and scribes, as well as tax-related references connected to the shipment of goods. Together, these artifacts provide an extraordinary documentary record of how Roman trade networks operated.

During the excavation, archaeologists also recovered a large section of the ship’s original sail, an exceptionally rare find and virtually unique in Spain. They also uncovered four anchors, intact baskets, fragments of ropes and rigging, and components of the vessel’s steering system.

Among the most significant discoveries is the first tiller handle from a side rudder ever documented in Spain, a key artifact for understanding how ships of this type were maneuvered. Other finds have also helped establish a more precise timeline for the wreck. One of the most important is a coin discovered beneath the base of the mast, likely placed there as part of a traditional shipbuilding ritual. The coin was minted in A.D. 320, providing archaeologists with a reliable reference point for dating the vessel and its eventual sinking.

Following its recovery, the ship is now entering a lengthy conservation and restoration process. The recovered pieces will remain for at least one year at a specialized conservation facility established at San Carlos Castle in Palma before being transferred to the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Cartagena for additional preservation treatments.

The long-term goal is to place the Ses Fontanelles on public display at a new archaeological center planned by the Balearic regional government. In the meantime, part of the ship’s cargo will go on display this fall as part of a temporary exhibition.

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