Nicholas Bartos: Investigating a Maritime Crossroads of the Ancient Mediterranean: Initial Underwater Archaeological Excavation at Vendicari, Southeast Sicily

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The Vendicari Nature Reserve on the southeastern tip of Sicily has been a strategic coastal crossroads of the central Mediterranean since at least the Hellenistic period (late 8th century BCE).  For seafarers traveling on east-west and north-south maritime transport routes between the Straits of Gibraltar and Anatolia as well as North Africa and the Adriatic Sea, the port offered a safe haven and a variety of commercial opportunities for millennia.  Positioned near several shallow lagoons, exposed stone, fertile land, and along migratory bluefin tuna routes, the local landscape encouraged long-term processes of ecological intervention, especially related to salt production, stone quarrying, agriculture, and fishing.  These ancient legacies continue today, as contemporary Sicilians work to preserve this vibrant natural and cultural heritage.

Significant archaeological remains onshore such as a fish processing complex, coastal quarries, cemeteries, church structures, and a settlement attest to the diversity of commercial, religious, and domestic life throughout Vendicari’s history.  The underwater archaeology of Vendicari – which consists of fragments of ancient trade goods, ceramics, shipwrecks, ballast stones used to balance ships at sail, and fishing components – hints at the variety of nautical activities that occurred in different areas across this landscape.  Only through investigation the submerged heritage of Vendicari is it possible to trace the progressions of this marine-oriented local economy and its role in the development of the connected Mediterranean.

Since 2018, I have been the underwater fieldwork director for work at Vendicari, part of a broader archaeological initiative directed by Justin Leidwanger (Stanford University, Department of Classics and Archaeology Center) and Elizabeth S. Greene (Brock University, Department of Classics and Archaeology) in collaboration with the Soprintendenza del Mare (Regione Siciliana) and “Federico II” University of Naples.  Over the course of three prior field seasons (2018, 2019, 2021), we conducted systematic underwater archaeological survey in the two bays of Vendicari.  This research has led to the discovery of multiple potential ancient, medieval, historical, and modern shipwrecks, over 50 ballast piles, and hundreds of artifacts confirming the widespread and shifting cultural entanglements of the area. 

The Europe Center Graduate Student Grant facilitated my participation in initiatives from June-July 2022 at Vendicari, where I continued as the underwater fieldwork director and Stanford Diving Safety Officer.  With a team of archaeological professionals and Stanford and Brock undergraduate and graduate students, we continued survey efforts in Vendicari’s South Bay.  This consisted of diving-based transect survey that prioritized systematic quantification of artifacts on the seafloor.  Analyses of the relationship between artifact distributions and underwater topographical features across the site reveals different patterns of activity in Vendicari’s harbors over time and the influence of post-depositional processes on the condition of the undersea archaeological record.  In the South Bay, we noted concentrations of ceramics, animal bone fragments, nails, iron concentrations, and several large and well-preserved wooden ship components.  The majority of the datable material found in 2022 is from the Late Roman, Medieval, and post-Medieval periods, though some Early Roman and Late Hellenistic material was also noted.  Material made locally, elsewhere in Italy, and also from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean highlights the extensive maritime networks of Vendicari.

In addition to underwater survey at Vendicari, we aimed to more intensely investigate two particular concentrations of material through targeted test excavation.  We selected first UT9, the largest ballast pile so far noted in either bay and what we thought might have been the remains of a single-period shipwreck.  UT9 is a very well-circumscribed mound of over 1500 rounded stones (on average around 0.25 m).  Recovered artifacts from test excavation were relatively limited under the ballast pile itself and included no wood fragments or iron concretions as might have been expected for ship remains.  This does, however, suggest a discrete deposit from a single vessel.  A range different types of ceramics dating from the Late Hellenistic to Late Roman period were found in the surrounding area, but not under the pile itself.  The site of our second test excavation (UT15) consists of a very different concentration of stones, sediment, and cultural material in more open waters to the south.  Exploratory work here revealed a mix of material from different periods under and between the rocks, suggesting that this site represents a gradual accumulation over centuries.

Fieldwork in 2022 shed new light on the diverse maritime history of Vendicari and southeast Sicily, as well as the roles the site and the region played in networks across the Mediterranean.  More work is necessary to contextualize this vital heritage and to focus attention on a vulnerable underwater area which remains exposed to looting and natural degradation.  

For detailed results of the underwater fieldwork at Vendicari, see: 

Leidwanger, J., Bartos, N., Wilker, S.T., and Greene, E.S. 2022. “Underwater Archaeological Investigations at Vendicari, Southeast Sicily. A Preliminary Report on the 2018–2022 Work.” Archaeologia Maritima Mediterranea 19: 113-20. 

Bartos, N., Wilker, S, Avola, G., and Gross. J. Forthcoming. Investigating a Maritime Cultural Landscape at Vendicari, Southeast Sicily. In J. Leidwanger and K. Seetah (eds), Across the Shore: Integrating Perspectives on Heritage. Springer.