The secret of l'illa del Portitxol: they discover more than a thousand ancient objects, Roman structures and the remains of a wreck
Xàbia's "Projecte Portitxol" has completed the first phase of its research and the results are impressive. L'illa del Portitxol hides great historical secrets as well as thousands of objects. Last night, at the Cirne Foundation, the team of archaeologists from the University of Alicante and the Soler Blasco Museum presented the results of the recent excavation campaign carried out in the southern part of l'Illa.
Findings on land
The archaeologists Jordi Blázquez, Juanfran Álvarez and Álex Pérez, together with the director of the Xàbia Museum, Ximo Bolufer, pointed out that the findings are "important and incredible" that make the investigation of Portitxol never end. And it is that, the results of this archaeological excavation campaign discover, on land, remains of columns from the Roman period, ceramic pieces, possibly from the XNUMXth century, from the Byzantine period, pits (tombs) and Roman walls that would explain a possible settlement , that is, that the island was inhabited.
underwater museum
Anchors
But this is not the only historical treasure found, but under the sea, the discovery is even greater. More than 200 anchors, from different chronologies, have been discovered, which makes the Portitxol bay and old port an exceptional point and the largest in the entire Mediterranean in terms of the concentration of these pieces "that give us the type of ship that anchored on this island and since what time".
From this find, an underwater museum has been created with a unique route that takes divers to visit the anchors. The archaeologists explained that at each point you can see the rest of the anchor and a tablet with the information of each one of them. But these findings will not only remain in the sea, but will also be accessible in a virtual museum, which is being worked on, so that it can be accessible to everyone.
Wrecks
On the other hand, and in addition to the gold coins from Roman times recently found by some divers, the seabed of l'illa del Portitxol hides the remains of two sunken ships. One seems to be from the Punic period, 800 BC, due to the Punic amphorae found that would explain the loading of a lost ship. The other corresponds to a shipwreck from the XNUMXth century.
The investigation, which started in 2019 with the signing of an agreement between the Xàbia City Council and the University of Alicante, continues. These results invite you to continue discovering the secrets of the Historic Port of Portitxol.
