LA CULTURA
July 13th - July 26th 2023 SALTY: Lead ingots weighing 2,820 kg were found on board
RISING FROM THE BRINY
AN archaeological team has made an extensive survey of a 2,500-year-old Phoenician ship to work out the best way to extract it from the sea. The Mazarron II is named after the town in Murcia, where it was found off the coast in 1994. Eight metres in length it is regarded as the most complete ancient ship to
By Alex Trelinski
be discovered, but unless raised, it risks further damage from currents and storms. The vessel was found largely intact with a cargo of lead ingots weighing 2,820 kilos. A total of nine archaeologists have worked for
World heritage bid for irrigation system AN ancient Costa Blanca irrigation system is bidding for UNESCO world heritage status. Orihuela council believes the ancient arabic watering network, which dates from the 13th and 14th century, deserves further protection. In particular, the ancient Moquita and Pando water wheels in the Las Norias district, deserve support. “We must value everything that makes up our traditional irrigation network because even after many hundreds of years, it still provides us with the most efficient use of water,” insisted mayor Pepe Vegara.. He added they were ‘unique’ and that most tourists were not aware of it. “This is part of our culture, our history and our DNA,” he insisted. Pedro Valero, president of the 'Friends of the Twin Wheels' association said: “We are lucky to still have them due to the efforts of farmers over hundreds of years and they are the only examples of double waterwheels left in Spain.” He said he hopes that a new visitors centre being planned will finally come to fruition.
Ancient Phoenician ship surveyed for rescue bid over a fortnight to log any cracks and fissures across the ship, which lies 60 metres from Mazarron's Playa de la Isla. Later this year, the experts from Valencia University will recommend how to protect and retrieve the
OP QUICK CROSSWORD Across 7 Sandy shores (7) 8 Done at last! (5) 9 State of disgrace (5) 10 Musty rubbish (7) 11 Monastic life (8) 13 Social work gatherings (4) 15 Duration (4) 16 Relax (8) 19 Officer plays on cello (7) 20 Ransack (5) 22 Deadbeat (5) 23 Distinct sort or kind (7) Down
OP SUDOKU
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1 Where to find Timbuktu (4) 2 Capital of Bhutan (7) 3 Survey the top storey? (13) 4 Dog ends (5) 5 Run down apartment (8) 6 Faculties (6) 7 Plant flower (5) 12 Unidentified salesmen go berserk (8) 14 Protected (7) 15 Fishing gear (6) 17 Essentials (5) 18 Chemically unreactive (5) 21 Lay an egg (4)
All solutions are on page 31
wreck. Its new home would be the National Museum of Marine Archaeology in Cartagena where Mazarron I - restored 30 years ago - is currently on display. It was discovered by chance in 1988 during the construction of a new marina. Historians have used the Mazarron II, probably made around 580 BC, to document how the Phoenicians shipped metals such as lead from the Iberian Peninsula. After it sank, it remained buried in sediment for more than 2,000 years until changes in currents unearthed it in 1994. It now lies under about 1.7 metres of water surrounded by sandbags and a metal structure built for protection. The structure however is sinking into the sand at a faster pace than the wreck and threatened to crush it, so it was partially removed.
ANCIENT: Arabic watering network
Music in the air THE 135th edition of Valencia’s International Music Band Contest has started at the Palau de les Arts auditorium. The competition, running until Sunday, involves 16 bands from as far away as Portugal and Columbia.
ACCIDENTAL FIND A CORDOBA area farmer stumbled on a large ancient Roman artefact weighing three tons. He discovered the huge stone relic used for pressing olives, while uprooting an ancient olive tree. The mill stone is about 2,000 years old and it has a circular shape with three large grooves, possibly cracks, running down its side. A circular track is carved into the top, giving it the appearance of an upside-down mushroom with its stalk cut too short. These types of olive oil mills, known as a trapetum, originated in Greece and spread throughout the ancient Roman empire. It will be restored at Baena's Municipal Museum.