Propylaeum

Over the centuries Phoenician ships navigated from the Syrian-Lebanese coast over and beyond the Mediterranean assisted by wind propulsion. The majority of the reports written about these exploratory trips and trade voyages have not survived. No vessels were found until the mid-20^th century, so that only very limited knowledge about Phoenician seafaring was available to scholars. During the last decades, however, numerous wrecks were found: Even if they are ‘shattered’ and sunken, these ships still can be considered as graphic evidence for communication structures from the Iron Age and Archaic Period. They allow for the direct reconstruction of Phoenician trade during its prosperous period for the first time. The wrecks in Ashkelon are proof of the wine trade. Those in Mazarrón, in the Eastern Mediterranean, give insight on shipbuilding and the active trade on the Iberian Peninsula. Finally, the findings in Bajo de la Campana and Rocheslongues attest to the trade with natural resources that seldom can be proven ashore.