MARITIME “GRAVEYARD” REVEALED NEAR LEANING TOWER

(PRWEB) March 26, 2003

Five years after construction workers struck the wooden beam of a 2000-year-old Roman ship, 20 feet below the earth’s surface, in an open field, 500 yards from Pisa’s Leaning Tower, author Michael Sedge reveals the haunting mysteries surrounding this archaeological graveyard, which Italian authorities have called a “maritime Pompeii.”

“Initially, archaeologists believed they had found a single ship,” explained the former Mediterranean editor of Scientific American Discovering Archaeology, and author of the new book, The Lost Ships of Pisa. “As digging continued, however, the numbers increased. Today, 16 vessels have emerged, dating from the 3rd century B.C. to the 5th century A.D., in an ancient port that time had forgotten.”

Scientific studies and historical documentation—including a map of Pisa by Leonardo da Vinci—researchers learned that an ancient harbor had once served the city.

The primary question facing the archaeological team was also the most obvious: What had caused the vessels to sink to the bottom of the Pisa harbor? But there were numerous other mysteries as well. Sedge became obsessed in resolving these, to include in his book, The Lost Ships of Pisa.

“Thousands of artifacts were also recovered. In one of the amphorae, the skeleton of a newborn baby was found. Why was it in there? And what was it doing on ship? A pin and jewelry were found. How did they fit into the archaeological puzzle? There was a lion’s tooth—which was one of the easier finds to explain—but also 502 shoulder bones from pigs, 443 of which were from the right shoulder. Why?”

For the first year of the excavation, no human remains were discovered. Then, upon lifting the ship labelled “B” the haunting skeleton of a flattened man met researchers’ eyes. In his outstretched, left arm were the remains of a dog.

“The ‘sailor and his dog’ became the talk of the site,” said Sedge. “What secrets could this ancient mariner and his basset hound tell me about the catastrophic event that had sealed their fate?”

A Discovery Channel Book Club selection, The Lost Ships of Pisa, is published by ibooks and distributed by Simon & Schuster. The 242-page, hardcover book has photos throughout and is available at bookstores or Amazon.com.

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The Sedge Group

msedge@thesedgegroup.com