Emily Chan
At the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, an ancient Roman battering ram was found. The heavy object was used during a battle that took place more than 2,200 years ago.
A deepwater submarine was used to recover the large bronze piece, which was located off the coast of Sicily’s Aegadian Islands at a depth of 260 feet.
According to a translated statement from the Sicily Superintendence of the Sea with the Department of Cultural Heritage for the region, the ram was once attached to a warship. It was used in the Battle of the Aegates, fought between Rome and Carthage in 241 B.C.
The skirmish was the last battle of the First Punic War between the two cities, the initial conflict that kickstarted a series of wars that lasted for 23 years and ended with Carthage surrendering to Rome.
Rams were one of the most important naval weapons of the time. They would smash into enemy ships, damaging them and causing them to sink.
During the Battle of the Aegates, the Romans sunk 50 Carthaginian ships and captured 70 more, taking nearly 10,000 sailors as prisoners.
Carthage was forced to surrender, and Rome had peace for a short time until they went on to fight a second and third war against the Punic people over the next century.
All that fighting cost a lot of human lives and wrecked the state of Rome’s economy. In the last phase of the war, Rome had to ask wealthy families for a loan to build new boats and arm the fleet, according to Francesca Oliveri, an archaeologist at the superintendence.
The recently discovered ram was covered in marine life, so its features were hard to make out. An analysis of the ram revealed that it contained a decorative engraving depicting a Montefortino-style Roman helmet with three feathers. The helmet style was part of the standard uniform for Roman troops.
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