On Friday evening, Minister for Gozo Dr Justyne Caruana, was able to experience, through the use of 3D Virtual Reality Display, the current condition of the Phoenician shipwreck which was discovered just off the the Xlendi coast.
Last night in Xlendi the public had the opportunity to view and hear about the excavation work on the shipwreck, which was located in 2007.
The University of Malta are leading the project in collaboration and with the support of the Ministry for Gozo.
The University has in collaboration with a number of partners over the past 10 years, used state of the art technologies to study and explore one of the most exciting underwater archaeological discoveries in the Central Mediterranean.
The international team on the project, headed by Professor Timmy Gambin, is composed of professional archaeologists and divers.
Dr Caruana gave thanks to Prof Timmy Gambin and his team “for giving us such a vivid experience of the Phoenician wreck just off Xlendi.”
“It is a privilege for the Ministry for Gozo to team up in this extraordinary mission,” said the Minister.
The Phoenicians were renowned as skillful and brave maritime traders who managed to create an impressive commercial network across several countries.
Their trading routes are known to have extended as far up into Britain and to Mesopotamian ports and also east to mainland Greece and Crete, yet exact routes on which they travelled have remained elusive.
The discovery of shipwrecks which date to the Phoenician Period shed further light on the possible trade routes of these mysterious Phoenician merchants.
Photographs: MGOZ/Terry Camilleri