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WELCOME IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ROMAN SHIPS

During the excavations for the construction of the underground tunnel along the Olbia seafront, we found the remains of 10 Roman ships and 5 from Medieval times. It was an exciting and interesting surprise, not only for the archeologists, but also for our technicians and workmen, for the inhabitants of Olbia and for the tourists who, as they passed by every day, would look down to see the new discoveries. We are therefore extremely happy and proud to have contributed to bringing to light a piece of our naval history. All these relics, buried by the sand and mud of the sea-bed, have been rescued and subsequently restored and exhibited at the Olbia Museum.

Looking through the photographs you will find many examples of the precious handmade articles that have been brought to light after centuries of oblivion in the holds of the sunken ships.

For archeological and historical details we invite you to read the interesting article by Rubens D'Oriano, who followed the discovery and the excavations on behalf of the Archeology Agency.

The Relics of Olbia Harbour
Rubens D'Oriano

" Partern litoreo complectitur Olbia muro " – " the other part found refuge in the port of Olbia "
This is how the poet Claudianus tells us that, while on its way to Africa, a part of the war fleet sent in 397 AD by the Emperor Honorius to fight against the rebellious Gildon, was forced by bad weather to take refuge in Olbia harbour.

And it is in this same sea-bed of the harbour of ancient Olbia that the Archeology Agency of Sassari and Nuoro, with the collaboration of scientists E. Ricciardi, G. Pietra and G. Pisanu, is now excavating using the funds put at its disposal by the ANAS, unfortunately partly holding up the work for the completion of the tunnel that is to connect the seafront to the extra-urban road system.

Happily, the importance of the discoveries justifies the consequent inconveniences.
The excavations have so far brought to light 10 large Roman relics and 5 Medieval ones. These and 5 of the Roman ones have already been excavated and moved, by disassembling the frames, planking, keels, etc.  These main parts were subsequently stored in tanks of water pending treatment for preservation, drying, reassembly and display in the museum.

All archeological excavations tell a piece of history, and in this case we are dealing with History with a capital ‘H’.

 

The sinking of the Roman relics occurred in the 5th century AD by the Vandals, who saw the ships moored at the harbour and set fire to them, subsequently attacking the town, just as they had elsewhere in Sardinia, Tuscany, Corsica and even Rome that they ransacked for ten days in 455 AD. The Vandals’ attack marked the end of the Roman cities. Centuries of hardship followed. Around 1000 AD, Olbia – then called Civita - was the capital of the Judiciary of Gallura, one of the four realms of Medieval Sardinia. Due to a strategic alliance with the Maritime Republic of Pisa in the 13th century, maritime traffic was resumed and it was necessary to drain the old harbour area, rendered unusable by the presence of the Roman relics.

All archeological excavations tell a piece of history, and in this case we are dealing with History with a capital ‘H’. The sinking of the Roman relics occurred in the 5th century AD by the Vandals, who saw the ships moored at the harbour and set fire to them, subsequently attacking the town, just as they had elsewhere in Sardinia, Tuscany, Corsica and even Rome that they ransacked for ten days in 455 AD. The Vandals’ attack marked the end of the Roman cities. Centuries of hardship followed. Around 1000 AD, Olbia – then called Civita - was the capital of the Judiciary of Gallura, one of the four realms of Medieval Sardinia. Due to a strategic alliance with the Maritime Republic of Pisa in the 13th century, maritime traffic was resumed and it was necessary to drain the old harbour area, rendered unusable by the presence of the Roman relics.

Rubble, soil and rocks were cast and then reinforced with shafts in order to fill up the harbour area and thus move the coast forward a few meters in order to reach a deeper and more unobstructed sea-bed. In addition to the rubble and rocks obsolete boats weighted down with stones were used; these are the Medieval relics found during the excavation, the first from Judicial times ever to be found on the island. There is interesting confirmation of this other piece of town history provided to us by its archeology: at the beginning of '700 the anonymous writer of a report on Sardinia, that is preserved in the Sabaudian archives in Turin, states that Terranova (as Olbia was called at the time) "was a Roman colony with a good harbour on the east side, that was filled up by the Pisans".

Lastly, another absolutely extraordinary discovery was made: an 8 meter long portion of a ship’s mast that dates back to the 1st century BC, the first ever to be seen by the human eye. In fact, apart from two very small fragments of about a few dozen centimeters long, up until now, in order to know how the masts of ancient ships were built, one had to analyse the images on frescos, reliefs, pottery, etc. Now, for the first time, we have the real thing and, what is more,  half or ¾ of its original length (presumably 12-15 meters) has been preserved.

The excavation also supplies us with an enormous quantity of objects to emphasize once again the economic level and the very wide range of Olbia's transmaritime traffic between the Roman Era and the Middle Ages: oil lamps, fine dining and kitchen ceramicware, amphoras, bronze and silver coins and one gold one, rings, a glass paste necklace, an Egyptian statuette of Osiris, a Ceylon sapphire, granite columns, a wooden comb, glass vases, a phallic amulet, fragments of a life-size bronze statue, ropes, deer and mouflon antlers, shells used as wind instruments, etc. All these findings will be on display around the reconstructed relics in the Archeological Museum that is almost completed, a short distance from the excavation site, on the island of Peddona.