Professor Lucy Blue is in Naples speaking with Pierre Poveda (Center Camille Jullian, CNRS), a maritime archaeologist who is co-leading, with his colleague Franca Cibecchini (DRASSM, french ministry of Culture), the excavation of a shipwreck lying in French waters between Cannes and the Île Sainte-Marguerite, home to Fort Royal. The wreck dating to around 180 BC is well preserved, with its entire port side buried beneath masses of dead roots of Posidonia seagrass. A few small wooden artefacts, including writing tablets have been recovered, as well as Italian amphorae that were transporting wine. Despite its hidden location the site has proven vulnerable to looting, and Pierre shares the dramatic story surrounding approximately 100 amphorae taken mostly from the wreck and also from other archaeological sites.  Further seasons of work are planned, with the goal of displaying the finds at the Museum of Fort Royal offering the public a closer look at these ancient maritime treasures and the ship’s role in Mediterranean trade.

The excavation of the Hellenistic wreck Fort-Royal 1 is being carried out under the joint direction of Franca Cibecchini (Drassm – Ministry of Culture) and Pierre Poveda (CCJ-CNRS-AMU).

We would particularly like to thank the direction of the French Ministry of Culture’s Department of Underwater Archaeological Research (DRASSM), as well as the direction of the Camille Jullian Center (CNRS, Aix-Marseille University).

We would also like to thank the City of Cannes, and our collaborators: the Institut Arkaia (Aix marseille Université), the Musée départemental Arles antique (MdAa), the MAC-Centre d’Arqueologia Subaquàtica de Catalunya (CASC), the Scoop Ipso Facto and, of course, all those involved in the excavation: archaeologists and members of the Alfred Merlin crew. – Pierre Poveda

Two articles on the find are available to read for free online:

• Pierre Poveda, Franca Cibecchini, Le pillage de l’épave Fort-Royal 1 et la réponse des autorités, télécharger sur HAL
• Franca Cibecchini, Pierre Poveda, « Fort-Royal 1 : pillage et fouille d’une épave antique », Archéologia, 13/10/2023, voir en ligne

And finaly, here are some other links through various french general media :
Archéologie sous-marine : le Fort-Royal 1, proie des pilleurs, Le Monde
Alpes-Maritimes : soupçonnés d’avoir pillé l’épave Fort Royal 1, un père et son fils interpellés, BFMTV
Une épave antique victime d’un important pillage au nord de l’île Sainte-Marguerite au large de Cannes, France Bleu
Au large de Cannes, une épave antique victime d’un pillage « important, récent et encore en cours », Le Figaro
Nice Matin – histoire
Nice Matin – insolite
https://www.latribune.fr/regions/region-sud-nice/patrimoine-les-aventuriers-de-l-archeologie-perdue-1006931.html

Follow along with the ongoing work on through DRASSM ( Website, Instagram & Twitter) and the Centre Camille jullian (Website & Twitter)