Bajo de la Campana Project Blog

Since we didn’t dive on Friday, I took the team to Cartagena after we’d finished the weekly house cleaning. We spent the afternoon exploring the back streets of the city and visiting the Roman Theater, one of the earliest and best preserved in Europe.

The exposed walls of empty building lots provide expansive canvases for Cartagena’s talented street artists (photos by M. Polzer).

Laura White (L) and Staci Willis (R) get into the spirit of this particularly amusing wall graffiti (photo by M. Polzer).

A building shrine at the intersection of two back streets (photo by M. Polzer).

The Roman Theater (photo by M. Polzer).

The medieval church built over the Roman theater (photo by M. Polzer).

Team members Neil Puckett, Laura White, Javier Pandozi, Enrique Aragon, and Staci Willis atop the Roman theater (photo by M. Polzer).

A reconstructed portion of the Roman Theater (photo by M. Polzer).

Cartagena is now a small regional city, but is home to the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology of Spain (Arqua), the Spanish Navy’s submarine fleet, the Navy Diving Center (CBA), and the University of Cartagena. It also boasts a municipal Archaeological Museum that has an excellent exhibit on Roman mining, as well as a small Naval Museum and an impressive new conference center that is nearing completion.

A view of the harbor of Cartagena looking south (photo by M. Polzer). At the base of the promontory on the right is the former location of the National Museum of Maritime Archaeology (now Arqua). In the distance, to the left, is the island of Escombreras (the ancient Scombraria), where my co-director Juan rescued six Roman shipwrecks during the construction of the oil loading terminal seen in the photograph. The material he recovered is now on display in the Arqua museum.

The main entrance gate to the Navy Arsenal in Cartagena (photo by M. Polzer).

One of the Spanish Navy’s diesel submarines in dry dock in Cartagena (photo by M. Polzer).

The city has an ancient and proud tradition, and was once a prosperous mining center and home to Spain’s Mediterranean fleet. Because of the latter, it once also was the most heavily fortified and defended naval harbor in all of Europe. Most of the fortifications and gun batteries that guarded the approaches to the harbor are now open to visitors.

The Gran Hotel, one of the beautiful and ornate buildings constructed during the mining boom in the 19th century (photo by M. Polzer).

An ornate bronze street lamp from more affluent times (photo by M. Polzer).

Cartagena’s beautiful City Hall at night (photo by M. Polzer).

Like Rome, Cartagena is built on seven hills. The city’s name derives from the Latin Carthago Nova (New Carthage), Carthago being the Roman translation of the city’s original Punic name, Qart Hadasht (which itself means ‘New City’). Originally there was an indigenous settlement on the hills surrounding the excellent natural harbor, and perhaps a Phoenician presence as well, although this is not well established from archaeological finds. The Punic city was founded in 228 BC by Hasdrubal, a member of the powerful Carthaginian house Barca and younger brother of Hannibal, the scourge of Rome. Qart Hadasht was the capital of the Carthaginian empire in Iberia and the source of money and supplies that sustained Hannibal’s assault on the Italian peninsula in the second war with Rome. It was from here that he set out with his army and war elephants on their legendary march across the southern Alps and into the Roman heartland in 218 BC. The city passed into Roman hands during the Second Punic War, when Scipio captured it in 209 BC.

In more recent days, there have been protests across Spain, mostly by students and the many unemployed young people facing bleak futures with few prospects for work, at least in the near term. Though the sit-ins and protests in Cartagena have been small and mild in comparison to those in the major cities, there are still people camped outside City Hall and plenty of graffiti expressing the frustration and anger of the people against their government and a financial system that has largely failed them.

Tents of the remaining protestors camped outside City Hall (photo by M. Polzer).

Expressions of anger and disaffection (photo by M. Polzer).

Some of the sites around the Mar Menor and La Manga, where we call home during the summer months.

The expedition house and van at Calle Isla del Baron, in La Manga (photo by M. Polzer).

Looking northeast across the Mar Menor to La Manga (photo by M. Polzer).

Some of the melon fields around the Mar Menor. The area is a major producer of fruits and vegetables, much of which is exported to northern Europe. The early weeks of summer are when melons are harvested, and the sweet aroma of ripe melon permeates the air (photo by M. Polzer).

The Mediterranean coast of La Manga stretching off into the horizon. To the east (far right of the picture) is Isla Grosa and El Farallón; Bajo de la Campana is located just at the edge of the frame (photo by M. Polzer).

I roused the team a bit earlier today and, after some coffee and a light breakfast, we drove first to the Arqua Museum in Cartagena to pick up artifact boxes and other materials, and then to the Polígono Indústriale (Industrial Park), where the Museum’s new conservation and storage facility (called Arqua Tek) is located, to collect extra diving equipment—regulators, a few BCDs for backups and guests, diving weights and belts, and various other miscellaneous items. I introduced the new team members to the Museum staff: Rocío Castillo Belinchon, head archaeologist; Mila Buendía Ortuño, Juan Luis Sierra, and Carlos Gomez, conservators; and Emilio Peñuelas González, boat captain and equipment coordinator. The team also got a quick tour of the Museum’s excellent library, archaeological workspace, and conservation laboratory before loading all of the gear. The Museum’s primary function is the conservation and long-term storage of the artifacts recovered by the excavation, and ultimately their display in the beautiful National Museum of Underwater Archaeology (Arqua) in Cartagena.

Neil, Staci, Laura, and Juan load artifact boxes into the expedition van (photo by M. Polzer).

Leaving Arqua, we followed Emilio over to the Polígono and picked up the diving equipment. While there, we met Ernesto “Tiko” Ruiz Muñoz, another boat captain that the Museum has hired to assist with our summer fieldwork. He will be joining us in couple of weeks, once his contract is processed and signed by the Ministry of Culture.

Neil and I drove to Cabo de Palos for what we were told was a 7:30 AM appointment with our diving doctor. A mountain of thunderheads towered over the eastern horizon, with pastel yellow light from the waking sun streaming down through breaks in the clouds in a beautiful fan of sunrays. Cabo de Palos was gray, deserted, and still asleep; all we found at the closed dive shop was the resident cat rousing itself from slumber and sleepily stretching its body awake. After waiting a short span, our suspicion that there was a communication mix-up with the time was quickly verified with a text message: our appointment was for 7:30…in the evening! The rest of the team was still asleep when Neil and I arrived back home, so we ambled next door to the café/bakery for breakfast. Although the extra sleep would have been nice, we made the most of our opportunity and enjoyed a quiet, early start to the day with café con leche (espressos with milk), fresh pastries, and a pleasant chat.

Early morning view to the east from the beach by the Bajo expedition house. The Bajo de la Campana site is located on the other side of Isla Grosa, the island visible to the left (photo by M. Polzer)

Later, just before noon, the vegetable and fruit delivery service showed up to drop off a large freezer that they agreed to loan us for the summer. With a house full of people, the two refrigerators we have are full of perishables, drinks—especially bottles of water, ice packs for our lunch coolers, leftovers, and all sorts of other food items—so storage space for meat and frozen foods is rather limited. The loaner freezer will help tremendously.

In the mid-afternoon, Neil, Kiko, and I took all the SCUBA gear, air hoses, tank trolley, mooring buoy, fuel cans, and other miscellaneous excavation equipment to our container at the marina so we could free up some space and de-clutter the outside dining and working areas at the expedition house. Later in the evening, Neil and I went back to the dive shop for our diving medical examination—this time at the properly appointed hour. On the way home, we stopped by the grocery store and picked up some bratwurst and fresh bread for dinner. I prepared a German meal of sausages, sauerkraut, and red cabbage for our small group, which we ate outside in the lounge while watching “Bringing up Baby,” a delightful black-and-white film (1938) starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, on Laura’s laptop. By the time we were done dining, cleaning off the table, and washing the dishes, it was late and we all headed off to bed.

Neil Puckett at the marina, standing by Bajo equipment container (photo by M. Polzer).

Diving and excavation gear stored inside our container at the marina (photo by M. Polzer).

This first week of June saw our team grow with the return of several Bajo veterans as well as a first-timer. Neil Puckett, another NAP graduate student from Texas A&M University, arrived on Wednesday. Neil was a stalwart member of the 2010 campaign and is writing his Masters thesis on Phoenician trade and production, so he is keenly interested in the Bajo de la Campana shipwreck and the cargo material it is yielding. Having flown directly from College Station and checked his luggage all the way through, Neil had to pass through customs and so was the very last passenger to emerge from the arrival hall.

The following day, Spanish archaeologist Francisco “Kiko” Bañuelos Fuentes, from Galicia in Spain’s northwestern corner, arrived by car to the expedition house. Kiko and I had met and shared lunch once before, in 2008, but this is the first time that we will have worked together. He is a long-time associate of the Arqua Museum archaeological staff and has participated in many of their projects, including the investigation of two wrecks of Phoenician-period boats at Mazarrón.

The weekend saw the arrival of two young Spanish maritime archaeologists—Javier Rodriguez Pandonzi, from Madrid, and Enrique “Quique” Aragon Nuñez, from Cádiz—that have worked on the project with Juan and me every season since the inaugural one in 2008. Javi and Quique had just completed a contract (CRM) job near Madrid and then driven directly to La Manga. It’s great to have them on board again, and we spent the evening catching up on all of our goings on since last August.

The bajo 2011 prep crew (L–R): José Lajara, Laura White, Quique Aragon, Javi Pandozi, Staci Willis, and Kiko Bañuelos; not pictured: Neil Puckett (photo by M. Polzer).

The first order of business was to open up the expedition house, give it a thorough cleaning, and organize the living and working areas and all of the equipment that we packed up last summer. Although it is not nearly as romantic and rustic as building excavation camps from wood, bamboo, and hasır (woven matting) on the rocky cliffs of the Turkish coast, our ‘camp’ preparation here is no less essential. Instead, we have to scrub dirt, grime, and mold from kitchen cabinets and counters, refrigerators, freezers, showers and toilets with bleach and ammonia products; sweep and mop the floors of bathrooms, bedrooms, and the outside lounge and work spaces; wash dishes, sheets, towels, and cushion covers; and organize all of the equipment that we left in storage over the winter in preparation for the arrival of the rest of the team.

The house we rent for the expedition is located in the resort town of La Manga, which means ‘the sleeve’, in reference to its long, slender shape. La Manga is a touristic development of hotels, apartments, and summer houses; eateries, cafes, and bakeries; beach bars and pubs; pharmacies and small grocery stores; shops of all kinds and the ubiquitous ferreterías—general stores where one can find hardware and cleaning supplies; cooking pots and utensils; beach chairs, flip-flops, floats, sunscreen, and other ‘fun-in-the-sun’ essentials; cheap imitation Tupperwares and all types of other plastic products; and just about anything else a resident tourist might need while on holiday—all on the cheap.

The Grand Via of La Manga here runs next to the shore of the Mar Menor (photo by M. Polzer).

The development stretches north along a thin strip of land for more than 15 kilometers from Cabo de Palos, a small fishing village and harbor that boasts an historic lighthouse, to the marina of Puerto Tomás Maestre. The land strip separates the salty lagoon of the Mar Menor (‘Small Sea’) from the Mediterranean, uniquely providing sun and sea enthusiasts the choice of two seas and beaches, separated typically by only a hundred meters or so of terra firma. If so inclined to wake up early enough, one can watch the sun rise from the eastern horizon over the Mediterranean, then wander across to the other side of the peninsula (or simply turn around) in the evening and watch it set over the islands of the Mar Menor and behind the distant hills that define the western horizon.

One example of the peculiar architecture to be seen in La Manga; this beach-front house seems barely wide enough for the doors to open (photo by M. Polzer)

The Tomás Maestre marina is built on either side of the Canal de el Estacio, the main channel connecting the two seas that allows boats to sail or motor from one to the other. The Grand Via, or main street, of La Manga runs down the center of the strip and crosses the channel by means of a drawbridge, which opens for 15 minutes on every odd hour between 9AM and 9PM to let tall-masted boats pass through. The mooring spots for our expedition vessels are located in the north part of the marina (on the ‘wrong’ side of the channel, or tracks, you might say), so we have to pass over the bridge to get to them.

In any case, Laura, Staci, and I spent the first part of the week working long days doing housework…all part of archaeological fieldwork: mundane and grubby, perhaps, but necessary.

Canal de el Estacio, at the Tomás Maestre marina, (L) looking east towards the drawbridge and Mediterranean, and (R) looking west towards the Mar Menor (photos by M. Polzer).

The decrepit old tug tied up along side our mooring location. The wakes of passing boats bash the tug's iron hull against the side of the wharf, causing the damage seen in the lower left corner (photo by M. Polzer).

Plan of the Puerto Tomás Maestre marina showing the location of our equipment container, boats, facilities, and stores where we procure fresh bread and sandwich fixings for lunch.

My trip from South Australia to Spain was a long and convoluted journey; imagine, if you will, something in the mode of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles,” but, in my case, planes, train, taxis, and a bus, with a healthy measure of walking sprinkled in! I arrived finally in Cartagena on 28 May, where Juan and Annun were waiting for me at the bus station with the project van. Since we began the excavation, all of our project vehicles have been provided by FurNove of Cartagena. Martín, Felipe, and the rest of the Fur Nove staff have become part of the Bajo family, and have always provided us with friendly, excellent service and discounted rates in order to help the project. Their support and friendship are greatly appreciated.

After dropping off Juan and Annun at Juan’s house in Los Nietos, I drove to the expedition house in La Manga, where I was met by two graduate students from the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University—Laura White and Staci Willis. Laura and Staci had just arrived the day before after recently completing their first year in the program. Laura was coming from a two-week stint in Mazotos, Cyprus, where Stella Demesticha and her team are excavating a 4th-century B.C. shipwreck. Laura is a certified SCUBA instructor and will serve as our diving supervisor this summer. She has been assisting my old friend Bill Charlton as diving safety officer for Texas A&M University, so I am confident that the team will be in good hands in the water.