Contribution Of Archaeology To Medieval And Modern Sardinia 313
Finally, it should be remembered that to aspire to a more mature interpreta-
tion of the dynamics of Sardinia’s medieval trade on the basis of archaeology,
it is urgent to create a list of the many medieval wrecks off the island’s coasts.
The wreck offers an overall vision of the history of trade, as the ship sank near
the island of Cavoli (Capo Carbonara, extreme southeastern tip of Sardinia)
between 1430 and 1450, with a cargo of majolica produced in Manises destined
for Sicily, and tiles with the emblem of the aristocratic Beccatelli family of
Palermo.140
The underwater excavation of the shipwreck at the port of Valencia provides
a direct archaeological source of that trade, albeit poorly monitored by the
customs registers of Cagliari, though better reflected by the notarial protocols
of Barcelona. This ship on the Ruta de las Islas—heading towards the Levant
from the main ports of western Spain, with Sardinian stops in Alghero and
Cagliari or in Sicily—enjoyed a particularly prosperous period for the Catalan
Mediterranean Commonwealth in the fifteenth century.
The medieval underwater archaeology of Sardinia has unlimited potential
for growth due to the vast number of wrecks from the long period of the medi-
eval and modern eras. Although researchers are faced with problems of moni-
toring, knowledge, and the high costs of underwater research, nearby Corsica
provides a model which Sardinian research can draw upon when considering
future commitments in underwater archaeology.
Translated by Irina Oryshkevich and Michelle Hobart
140 Manuel Martin-Bueno and Julio Amare Tafalla, Projecto Cavoli: una nave aragonesa del
siglo XV hallada en Cerdeňa (Zaragoza, 1991).