THE BATTLE OF THE EGADI
The Battle That Changed the Mediterranean
The Battle of the Egadi Islands was fought between the Roman and Carthaginian fleets on March 10th, 241 BC.
On that day, more than 500 ships and 100,000 warriors clashed in what is remembered as the largest and most violent naval battle of antiquity. Dozens of warships sank and thousands of men lost their lives. It was the final and decisive engagement of a war that had lasted 23 years, the conflict known as the First Punic War. The Roman victory marked the beginning of Rome’s unstoppable expansion across the Mediterranean.
The Egadi Battlefield Site
This is the first and, so far, the only naval battlefield from antiquity ever discovered. The vast debris field left by the battle was located in 2010, after five years of systematic offshore surveys, by the RPM Nautical Foundation and the Soprintendenza del Mare della Sicilia under the direction of the renowned archaeologist Sebastiano Tusa.
The archaeological area extends across approximately 10 square kilometers of open sea seabed, at an average depth of about 80 meters. These demanding offshore conditions and the considerable depths involved present major technical and logistical challenges, making the investigation of this site one of the most ambitious and technically challenging underwater archaeological enterprises ever undertaken.
Since 2017, SDSS has formed the diving component of the research team. During annual campaigns lasting about one month each, working in parallel with the RPM Nautical Foundation and under the direction of the Soprintendenza del Mare della Sicilia, its technical divers descend to the seabed on a daily basis to carry out a wide range of archaeological operations.
These include survey transects, the installation of grids for systematic recording, test excavations, georeferencing of finds, video and photographic documentation, photogrammetry, and the recovery of artifacts.
Over the years, SDSS divers have located and recovered more than 500 artifacts, including an exceptional collection of helmets and cheek-pieces — unique in the world for the number of examples — as well as coins, shipboard pottery, personal weapons, and elements of ship construction, including magnificent war rams.
The investigation of the site, together with the materials recovered, is shedding new light on ancient warship construction and on the military technology of the classical world. Each annual campaign run by SDSS continues to reveal rare and precious artifacts, helping scholars build an increasingly detailed understanding of the dynamics of the battle and of the scarcely known material culture of the third century BCE.
Warship Rams
The warship rams were the main naval weapons for many centuries during the ancient times. They were positioned on the bow of the warships, at water level, and were used to ram and destroy the enemy vessels, causing its sinking. They were casted in bronze, directly on the bow of the warships .
Rams were also an iconic symbol, as they represented the sea power, and that of the valiant and victory at sea. These were often decorated with symbols and inscriptions and their three bladed shape, took inspiration to Poseidon’s trident.
The Naval Rams of the Egadi Battlefield
Before the investigations and discoveries of the Egadi battlefield, only one ram had been found in the entire world, in the waters of Athlit, in Israel. The Egadi battlefield up to now 2026 has led to the remarkable findings of 27 rams. In the whole world, only 31 such objects are known. Following their recovery the rams are subjected to a period of stabilization, restoration and study by the experts. They are often displayed in exhibitions in many countries of the world, while their residence is in the suggestive Ram’s Room at the Museum Stabilimento Florio in Favignana Island (Egadi arcipelago, Sicily).
Post-Excavation facility
Before being studied, exhibited, or transferred to museums, all artifacts recovered from the seabed pass through a specialized conservation facility dedicated to their initial stabilization and restoration. This stabilization and restoration facility, managed by SDSS conservators and archaeologists in collaboration with the Soprintendenza del Mare della Sicilia, is located within the evocative Ex Stabilimento Florio at the Tonnara of Favignana and is open to museum visitors.
Here, conservators begin the delicate process of desalination, removing salts absorbed during centuries underwater that could otherwise cause rapid deterioration once exposed to air. Each artifact is carefully cleaned, documented, cataloged, and monitored under controlled conditions to prevent structural stress and corrosion. This critical phase ensures that every object is preserved in the safest possible state, ready for further study or display.
Join the Project!
The investigation of the Battle of the Egadi is still very much underway, and these complex surveys of the vast battlefield hidden beneath the sea will continue to reveal precious treasures and vital archaeological information for many years to come.
SDSS field campaigns are self-funded, made possible through contributions, sponsorships, and donations.
By joining us with a donation to the SDSS project, you can support the continuation of the investigations, studies, and the stabilization and restoration of artifacts—while becoming part of the exclusive SDSS Expedition Sponsor Circle.
