The old ships that crossed the route that united the Itálica peninsula with the Iberian used to anchor, from before century II a. C., in the bay of Alcudia (Mallorca) to supply water. There, a hundred meters from the sea, a hollow opens, called Ses Aiguades Fountain, in which they introduced amphorae through a system of pulleys and ropes to fill them. But many did not recover. Why? A mystery that leads the heads of the IASCM Project (Underwater Archaeological Research in the Caves of Mallorca), who wonder if they were breaking the hoist system or threw them directly as offerings to this well found in 1998. Divers have already found two hundred.
Until now, the dating of the vessels had been carried out through comparisons with other similar ones, being mostly of Tarragona production. But last August, new dives were carried out with innovative prospecting techniques such as radiolocation, geolocation or 3D photogrammetry systems. These technologies, together with future microscopic studies (pollen, ceramics and bones of extinct animals), will allow to know in a global way this underwater site. "The results of the laboratory will offer us the exact dating of the amphorae and will answer questions so far without an answer," explains Manuel Fumás, co-director of the research.
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The access to Fuente de Seis Aiguades is done through a vertical gallery of about 6 meters with an approximate section of almost one meter, which leads to a first room of 16 by 14 meters and with a depth of up to 14. It is the entrance to a cave of fresh water, with a high degree of chlorides, which reaches a length of 180 meters, of which most are underwater, although with abundant air chambers in its path. Stalactites hang from the ceilings.
It was discovered by the scientific team of Xisco Gràcia almost 20 years ago, which recovered 189 amphorae and vessels from the Roman republican, Islamic and eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Inside, the remains of a Myotragus were also found , a goat species that disappeared 5,000 years ago.
The IASCM Project is considered the first in prospective underwater archeology in Europe (it allows to extract all the information without altering the conditions of the cave). It is carried out by the National Association of Underwater Archeology (Sonars), Submaris, SEB and Explorextrem. The difficulty of his work lies in the high specialization required in research, which makes it essential to have experts in speleobuceo, topography, underwater archeology, photogrammetry, underwater filming, documentation and restoration, among others.
The study, whose results will be known this year, will determine if the cave was used as a refuge, as a medical sanctuary (because of the chlorine from its waters) or was only a supply point. “The mystery lies in why there are so many amphorae. It is not normal. Some could fall, when the pulley broke, but not 200. Some researchers such as Enric Colom, of the Catalan Institute of Classical Architecture, think that it may be a sanctuary related to navigation and aquatic deities, being the amphorae offering to some God.
The study I Campanya of Prospecció Arqueològica Subaquàtica to les Coves Submergides de Mallorca , signed by Francesc Gràcia, Florian Huber and Fumás, details “that the presence of the Myotragus shows that the cavity was natural, formed thousands of years before the arrival of the humans to Mallorca and not as a consequence of the anthropic action related to the search for water ”. That is, the goat accidentally fell, but the amphorae threw them. Or not.
