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CHAPTER III
THE PUTA SCIFO A (“PAOLO ORSI”) SHIPWRECK
The Punta Scifo A shipwreck, also known as the “Paolo Orsi” wreck, is named
after the archaeologist who first studied its artifacts between 1908 and 1921. 104 The site is
located at a depth of only 4.5 m, 200 m offshore, covering an area of ca. 12 m x 15 m, on a
rocky seafloor intermixed with some sandy spots. Figure 28 shows the remains of the
vessel as they appeared during the 2005 INA-RPM survey. Due to the shallow depth, this
multibeam image is incomplete: three missing blocks, along with the only column shaft
seen in 2005 and 2006, have been added, drawn to scale.
However heavily disturbed the site appears today, with only four blocks and one
column shaft from the original cargo, a comprehensive analysis of the remains can still
provide useful information. For example, it is possible to determine the southeast-
northwest orientation of the vessel when it sank, lying perpendicular to the shore, on the
basis of the orientation of the extant marble elements. The weight of the items still under
water, combined with the weight of the artifacts raised to the surface, suggests a marble
cargo of approximately 200 tons.
104 See Chapter II, pp. 41-5 for more information regarding Paolo Orsi and the history of the shipwreck
discovery.
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