The wreck of a Roman merchant ship, 12 meters long, was discovered in 2019 in front of Mallorca. Since then, archaeologists have been studying the objects found on it, among which are around 300 amphorae in which olive oil, wine and vinegar were transported.
The key indicator that it is probably a Roman ship from the year 320 was the discovery of a coin minted in Siscia.
Novčić was in the hole where the mast or mainmast is placed.
“It is an important discovery because the laying of the coins was the inauguration of a new ship. This rite was performed before the first departure to sea,” archaeologist Miguel Ángel Cau Ontiveros told Studio Europa. Novčić was imprinted in order to bring happiness.
The ship sank in the bay, 65 meters from the shore, probably due to a strong storm.
Cau Ontiveros from the University of Barcelona and his colleagues studied the upper side of the coin because the lower side is embossed and cannot be seen.
“The coin is from Siscia because it says SIS. Thanks to numismatics, we know it was Siscia,” said the archaeologist. “On the coin we see a banner with the letters VOT and two XX (crosses) between two prisoners and the inscriptions Virtus Exercitus and SIS, which refers to the mint of Siscia,” he added.
The Romans built a mint in Siscia in 262.
Cau Ontiveros says that the coin can be classified as a coin of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great under Wallachia, it was minted there from approximately 272 to 337 AD.
“The ship is from the year 320 or later. This is indicated by other studied objects,” said the archaeologist. On one of them there is another symbol pointing to Constantine.
All found objects are in the museum in the city of Palma de Mallorca.