BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Martin Scorsese and a Sicilian Shipwreck

Archaic Greek shipwreck surfaces

Photographing the hull of the shipwreck featured in a new documentary produced by Martin Scorsese. Courtesy Soprintendenza del Mare.

Archaeologists have uncovered a 2,500-year-old Greek shipwreck just off the coast of southeastern Sicily. The ship was found largely intact about 20 feet below the waves and sheds additional light on the coastal activities of the region during the Archaic period (c. 579–481 BCE), when the island was colonized by Greeks. What sets this wreck apart, though, isn’t its preservation; it is the fact that it will be featured in a new documentary film produced by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese.

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Documenting a Wreck

Discovered near the town of Santa Maria del Focallo, the shipwreck dates to the sixth or fifth century BCE. In addition to the ship’s main hull and mast, excavators found ceramics, ropes, and even a small ointment jar engraved with the Greek word nau (“ship”). During the excavations, researchers used photogrammetry equipment to create a three-dimensional model of the wreck, allowing it to be studied with greater precision. The dive team also carried out surveys at several other nearby spots that they suspected of having wrecks. These locations were recommended by a local fisherman who had helped identify several previous wrecks.

Excavating ceramics using a water dredger. Courtesy Soprintendenza del Mare.

The dig was carried out by archaeologists from the University of Udine and the Superintendence of the Sea of the Sicilian Region as part of an ongoing project to document and preserve the coastline around the ancient cities of Ispica, Kaukana, and Kamarina. However, the excavations of this particular wreck received additional funding from an unexpected source, acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese, who is co-producing an upcoming documentary titled Shipwrecks of Sicily.

Scorsese’s production company accompanied the excavation team for a dig season in which they documented the wreck and the work being done to study and preserve it. In addition to the wreck from Santa Maria del Focallo, the documentary will also feature several other wrecks, including the Marausa II wreck, the Columns of Taormina wreck, the Gela II wreck, and other submerged finds around the small island of Ustica.

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on July 25, 2025.

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