Abstract:
Over half a century ago, maritime archaeologist Honor Frost led an interdisciplinary team that uncovered an exceptional Punic shipwreck off the western coast of Sicily.
The excavation, study, and conservation of the shipwreck—dated to the 3rd century BCE and now on display at the Museo Archeologico Regionale Lilibeo–Marsala—marked a groundbreaking achievement in the history of underwater archaeology. To this day, the Punic Ship of Marsala remains the only surviving ancient galley of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Second Life of a Phoenix takes shape from an unfinished manuscript by Honor Frost, recently discovered in her personal archives. In her Sicilian memoir, she recounts firsthand her experiences, challenges, and discoveries as director of the Punic Ship Project, while delving into the intellectual debates shaping the emerging discipline of maritime archaeology at that time. She illustrates the Mediterranean environment within which the ‘phoenix-ship’ likely came to grief; and the Sicilian context where she was able to bring it back to a second life.
The original manuscript comprises seven complete chapters (covering the years 1969–1973), along with notes for five additional chapters spanning the following years. The editors—both maritime archaeologists—introduce and contextualize the work, and provide a vital reconstruction of the unfinished sections.
The volume includes 72 photographs and maps, many drawn from Frost’s personal archive, and is published in both English and Italian, in accordance with her wishes, to ensure her story reaches the community of Marsala and beyond.
Also available in Italian: La seconda vita di una fenice
Contents
i. List of Illustrations
ii. Foreword
iii. Acknowledgements
I. Introduction (Claire Calcagno)
II. Honor Frost’s Scientific Legacy: Method and Vision of a Pioneer in the Waters of Marsala (Elena Flavia Castagnino Berlinghieri)
III. The Second Life of a Phoenix: Portrait of a Punic Ship Resurrected in a Sicilian Town, by Honor Frost
IV. Reconstructing the Unfinished Portion of The Second Life of a Phoenix (Claire Calcagno)
V. The Phoenix-Ship Reaches Safe Haven (Claire Calcagno and Elena Flavia Castagnino Berlinghieri)
Appendix 1. Bibliographic Sources
Appendix 2. Bilingual Lexicon of Technical Terms
Index
Honor Frost
Honor Frost (1917-2010) was an early pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology. Early in her career, she worked in Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre, where she conducted ground-breaking research on ancient ports, harbours, and anchors under the auspices of the Institut Français d’Archéologie in Beirut. During the 1970’s, in collaboration with the Sicilian authorities and the British School at Rome, Honor directed the excavation and recovery of a Punic shipwreck, dated to the 3rd Century BC.
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Dr.
Claire Calcagno
Claire Calcagno is a maritime archaeologist with an interest in the archaeology of the ancient Central Mediterranean region and maritime exchange systems. She has conducted fieldwork at coastal and shipwreck sites around the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and taught at universities in the U.K. and the U.S. As an independent scholar following her post-doc at M.I.T. she has oriented her research to the historiography of maritime archaeology, and the influence of technology on the evolution of the discipline. Her work as an academic translator ranges from books on biblical archaeology to medieval Venetian manuscripts. Claire holds degrees from Harvard University (A.B. in art history) and the University of Oxford (M.St. & D.Phil. in maritime archaeology).
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Dr.
Elena Flavia Castagnino Berlinghieri
Elena Flavia Castagnino Berlinghieri holds a PhD in Maritime Archaeology from the University of Bristol (UK). She conducts scientific research in the field of archaeology, with a particular focus on underwater cultural heritage, conducting both terrestrial and underwater excavations and investigations. Her research areas include ancient harbour cities, shipwrecks, coastal settlement dynamics, sea-level changes, and the study of human interaction with coastal landscapes, with a special focus on the central Mediterranean. She is involved in the protection of underwater cultural heritage within the framework of the 2001 UNESCO Convention.
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