Contribution Of Archaeology To Medieval And Modern Sardinia 303
that allows the material finds to remain autonomous from the written sources;
an integration that can balance the limitations inherent in any type of docu-
ment and increase the level of interpretation.
The signaling of other medieval and post-medieval shipwrecks from the
northern part of the island represents only the tip of the iceberg of a past that
has yet to be recorded and continues to receive only weak scientific interest:
of notable interest is an Islamic vessel from Capo Galera (Alghero), a wreck
dating from the late twelfth or thirteenth centuries.104 Also in Alghero, in the
resort “Mariposa,” are two other wrecks—A and B—which date from the six-
teenth century. These were carrying loads of salted fish and fabrics of varied
quality,105 but the work sadly remain unpublished. Similarly, the important
relic of Cala Barca, attributed to a French ship (called La Tigre) traveling to
Algeria and sunk by a storm in 1664, still awaits a proper excavation. That said,
some of these finds have already been published, such as cannons and a sig-
nificant amount of pewter tableware.106
A final interesting shipwreck, in front of the Isola Rossa of Trinità d’Agultu,
was carrying a load of magnesium (sepiolite), different types of slate tiles for
both roofs and floors, bricks and ceramics, coming from and produced in either
Albisola or Savona between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries,107
and represents an important sealed context for the history of trade that needs
to be studied in relation to similar findings from excavations on land.
Each of the medieval or post-medieval shipwrecks known today in Sardinia,
from the tenth century to the twentieth, contributes greatly to our knowledge
of the history of trade, naval architecture, and the nature of the material cul-
ture, which builds important cultural and interpretive timelines for archae-
ology on land. The opportunities to increase our knowledge are potentially
limitless, with a current estimate of several hundred identified wrecks; how-
ever, it is necessary to first consider the issue of monitoring the coasts and the
high costs of this type of research. That said, especially in Sardinia, underwater
archaeology can enable a quantum leap in historical reconstruction, bearing
in mind that the findings come from sealed contexts, unlike excavations on the
mainland where the incidence of subsequent post-depositional disturbances
is higher and can, therefore, interfere with the chronological and historical in-
terpretations of the sites.
104 Spanu (1997).
105 Rovina (1997), pp. 260–261.
106 Galasso (2000).
107 Riccardi and Lunardon (1997).