It is a wide arm of water, south of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Banc des Esquerquis, between Sicily and Tunisia, is a very popular maritime passage, and has been for millennia. But the seabed, sometimes deep, sometimes flush, and the windy inlet make navigation treacherous. It is also here that in December 1942, a battle between the United Kingdom and Italy left more than 2,000 dead and sank several ships. This means that wrecks accumulate in the area!
At the end of August, an archaeological mission, carried out under the aegis of Unesco, explored these seabeds and their rich heritage. Luck was at the rendezvous: «The weather was incredible and allowed us long observation campaigns, in this area which can be very dangerous.», describes Alison Faynot, who participated in the expedition.
On board the French scientific vessel Alfred Merlinrepresentatives of the eight countries involved (Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco and Tunisia) and about twenty scientists probed the Italian and Tunisian continental shelf for three weeks.
Six wrecks off Sicily and Tunisia
Under the waters on the Sicily side, the underwater robot surveyed three already known sites at a depth of 800 meters, where ships dating from antiquity rest. On the Tunisian side, three new wrecks were discovered by the scientific mission at a shallower depth. The details of the boats have not been communicated, but their period of use extends from Antiquity to the 19th century.e century.
«We’ve recorded hours of footage, thousands of photos and tons of bathymetric datawelcomes Alison Faynot. We must now analyze all this, to better understand the wrecks found and map the seabed.» In total, 10 km2 of land were surveyed.
Scientists have found that these had been looted, some decades ago. A situation that can be explained quite easily because the area, although dangerous, is known to divers and treasure hunters.
«We must preserve this underwater heritage, and the fact that eight countries manage to agree to carry out this mission is a good omen.wants to believe the researcher. This is a model that could be applied to other missions around the world.» In the meantime, Alison Faynot hopes that other expeditions will take place at the Banc des Esquerquis, to enlarge the excavation area.