The Trap of Bajo de la Campana and its Phoenician Treasure
Bajo de la Campana is the name of a well known reef, about twenty miles off the coast of Cartagena, Spain, that presents a clear danger to ships and this location has been claiming ships sailing since ancient times. The Bajo de la Campana reef has a rock formation that thrusts suddenly upward from a depth of fifty feet and stops a mere three feet before the water’s surface (Urbanus 2016). Long ago the sea level was different than now. Modern times present far warmer climates on a regular basis and smaller ice concentrations at the poles resulting in a slightly higher sea level than 2,600 years ago. Therefore, it is likely that the rock formation may have been slightly visible above the water. But, in the early 20th century, the Spanish government chose to blow off the top of the rock formation in Bajo de la Campana in an attempt to make it passge safer for any ships (Urbanus 2016). It was within these treacherous waters that a decently preserved wreck of a Phoenician trade ship was discovered. The ship itself was dated to the seventh century B. C. and once explored, the cargo of the ship proved to be a treasure trove of information and insight into the trading routes, commercial habits, and goods that the Phoenicians traded.
The Phoenicians were well known for their expansive mercantile network that stretched thousands of miles and spanned the entirety of the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians traded and established several communities along the Iberian coast (Urbanus 2016). They are one of the few cultures that so completely embraced sea exploration and charting. As they explored and continued expanding their network, they established these port towns and trade communities that became permanent settlements, not some place where a trader would try to make a profit over a singular season and then leave. These communities were built and people actively chose to stay in order to help the community flourish. They are mentioned in many well known ancient tomes including a reference in Homer’s The Odyssey and a mention by the prophet Ezekiel in the Bible. The Phoenician people were the most impressive merchant sailors of their time and they commanded a trade network that was unparalleled. Discovery of the wreck provided unique insight into the construction of the ships as well as the merchandise that was traded during the time the Phoenicians were at the peak of their trade empire.
What the Phoenicians were famous for trading was a purple dye made from murex sea snails (Urbanus 2016). This dye was highly sought after in the ancient world and used to represent wealth and royalty. It was from this primary trade item that the Phoenicians were named. Their name is derived from a Greek word meaning “blood red” (Urbanus 2016). They were a power in the Mediterranean and controlled trade. There was evidence of the various ports the ship at Bajo de la Campana made before eventually sinking. These ports where the Phoenician traders gathered and traded goods were scattered from Gadir to La Fonteta on the Mediterranean coast (Urbanus 2016). The Phoenicians developed such an extensive trade network that they were the foremost commercial and naval power of their time and no one else could remotely compare.
The excavation of the Bajo de la Campana wreck occurred over several months and due to the rich nature of the wreck, there was a significant amount of looting that had taken place over the years. The site had been used as a recreational diving area for many years and the other, older ships that had sunk there were not as successfully preserved as the Phoenician ship. It was in fact the blowing out of the top of the rock formation at Bajo de la Campana reef by the Spanish government in the early 20th century (Urbanus 2016) that spread debris and covered much of the wreck. This prevented further looting. The other two wrecks at the site, one Punic and the other Roman (Polzer 2009), did not fare as well. The wreck itself was in a relatively small area, but the contents of the ship were strewn over 4,300 square feet (Urbanus 2016) requiring an extensive search beyond the immediate wreck in order to accumulate an appropriate amount of data in order to make proper deductions concerning the exact nature of the ship and the reason it was there in the first place.
Before the wreck was discovered little was known about the construction of Phoenician sea-faring ships. Many speculations had been made about how the Phoenicians constructed their ships based on stories of the Phoenicians and second hand evidence. Until this point, no sea faring Phoenician ship had been discovered in tact enough to determine construction tendencies. The wreck at the Bajo de la Campana reef was mostly disintegrated, however, a one and a half foot wood plank with half a hole indicating a mortise and tenon joinery (Urbanus 2016), was a major evidentiary piece verifying one of many theories of Phoenician ship building. Mortise and tenon joinery is construction without nails that involves slotting the wood into itself through engineered cutting of the timbers used to build the final product. This would be a strategic way to build ships because the construction is all fit together and does not rely on the quality of adhesive or metal joints that may have been used otherwise. It contributes to the longevity of the ship.
In addition to the ship construction, there were also many questions surrounding what exactly was traded at the height of Phoenician merchant empire. Various items recovered from the wreck itself include raw ivory tusks, inscribed ivory, galena nuggets, tin and copper ingots, cuboid pan-balance weights, Baltic amber fragments, globs of resin or pitch, pottery, bronze pieces, and more expensive or exotic items including wood double-ended combs, carved ivory pieces, alabaster jars, what may have been a decorated ostrich egg, bronze furniture pieces, opulent furnishings, altars, incense burners, thymiateria, and a limestone pedestal (Aruz 2014). These pieces provide indications of how far the trade network truly stretched. The alabaster jars are reminiscent of what could be found in Egypt while the ivory could have been gathered in places such as Morocco. Their network extended beyond the Mediterranean into other countries and cultures including Portugal. Galena can still be found throughout Northern Africa and there are plenty of examples of galena, a lead mineral that is shiny silver metallic in color and heavy when lifted, being used all throughout the ancient world. Concerning the opulent furniture and exotic items found on the ship, it is possible that those were items to be delivered in future ports before the ship finally returned home.
In addition to all of the fantastic finds of trade cargo, other food and storage items were found to indicate features of Phoenician sailing habits. Wood fragments that appear to be remnants from various storage bins were found among the wreckage (Urbanus 2016) as well as several small nuts and seeds including an acorn, hazelnut, and olive pit (Polzer 2009). This can give some indication as to what the crew would have eaten while sailing. The nuts are non perishable and if the olives were stored in oil, they would last quite a long time making the olives a good form of sustenance to carry aboard the ship for long voyages. The wood pieces discovered were found around many of the items being transported and it has led the excavation team to believe the wood fragments may have been from storage containers used to store the exotic trade items that were being transported.
The Phoenicians represent a very unique culture that was far beyond its time. The quality of the craftsmanship of the Phoenicians and their commercial aptitude went unrivaled throughout their trade empire. The wreck at Bajo de la Campana reef is but a small insight to a grand and vivid culture that will hopefully be further explored in the future provided the sites have survived the trial of time and the destructive power of the human race. It would be worthwhile if another Phoenician seafaring ship could be found in order to provide even further insight into the maritime ways of the Phoenicians than the wreck at Bajo de la Campana reef. For who knows what other hidden secrets of the ancient world lay beneath the churning waves, waiting to be found.
References
Aruz, Joan, Sarah B. Graff, and Yelena Rakic, eds.
2014 Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age. New York: Yale University Press.
Polzer, M. and J. Reyes
2009. “Bajo de la Campana 2009 Phoenician Shipwreck Excavation.” The INA Annual 3:3-13.
Urbanus, Jason
2016 Masters of the Ancient Mediterranean. Archaeology 69(3):38-43.
Cover Image from Archaeology Magazine