The Marsala Punic Ship was excavated in 1971 and are on display in Marsala. The aim of this project is to undertake a detailed laser scan in order to aid the conservation strategy, and assess the current state of conservation of the ship.
In 1971 Honor Frost was involved in the excavation of an ancient wooden ship discovered by David Singmaster. After five years of pioneering work and incubation in conservation, the remains of the Punic Ship were put together at the Regional Archaeological Museum Baglio Anselmi in Marsala. The remains revealed valuable information on the construction of a Punic ship dating to the 3rd century BC.
Following a reexamination of archival data by the Trinacria Sounding Project (TSP) and a new effort to reexamine the ship’s conservation by a team from the Arc-Nucléart restoration laboratory and the Centre Camille Jullian (Aix Marseille University, CNRS), this project aims to document the ship with a high-resolution three-dimensional scan.The data will inform the Arc-Nucléart-CCJ and museum of the ship’s current state, aid the necessary conservation, and produce a three-dimensional model that can develop future research and public engagement.
Data from laser scanned ships is being used to examine the best techniques to review the conservation state and further aid the for stabilization of the shipwreck and as well as help the museum create engaging public displays. The digital documentation of the ship in its current display will help to formulate a conservation strategy and document the ship before any intervention begins.
