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Results of the Studies
The Punta Scifo B Shipwreck
The Punta Scifo B shipwreck rests in a little bay close to Lucifero Tower, the
summer residence of the eponymous Marquises from Croton (Fig. 18). The wreck was
partially excavated by Aquarius between September 16 and September 24, 1987. A 2005
multibeam image of the Punta Scifo B wreck gives the general features of the site
(Fig. 25). Thirty marble slabs and 24 blocks are located at a maximum depth of 7 m on a
sandy seafloor, 179 m away from the nearby Punta Scifo A shipwreck (Fig. 26).
The site, apparently intact and still retaining the overall shape of a merchantman,
covers an area of 24 m x 15 m and its orientation follows a southeast-northwest direction
that presumably reflects the position of the vessel when it sank, with its bow facing the
shore. The marble objects are still arranged next to one another or superimposed in two
or three layers (heavier blocks beneath, lighter slabs above) presumably as they were
placed inside the ship’s hold. The blocks’ total weight approaches 350 tons, and the ship
that carried them was probably larger and beamier than the ship lost at Punta Scifo A:
based on the distribution of the artifacts, it is likely that the hull measured ca. 40 m x 12
m. 86 Based on the type of amphoras carried on board, the ship appears to have sunk in
the third century A.D.
86 The third-century A.D. Isola delle Correnti shipwreck is remarkably similar to the Punta Scifo B wreck.
It carried a cargo of 49 marble blocks for an estimated weight of 350 tons, with a hull of 40-48 m in length
and 10-11 m in beam. (Kapitän 1971, 296-8).
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