The sea has always been a bridge between people, a route for trade, ideas, and war, but sailing also carries the possibility of disaster. A shipwreck stops time in an instant, it marks the end of a journey, of lives, or of a purpose. These sunken ships become time capsules.
Underwater archaeology recovers them as fragments of history that can still be read. Just as the seabed tells us about our own past.
Naufragis (Wrecks) explores how underwater archaeology allows us to read the past through sunken ships. The exhibition begins by explaining how humans have tried, throughout history, to access the bottom of the sea. From ancient diving bells to the first self-contained diving equipment, until this exploration became a scientific discipline.
From here, three specific wrecks guide the tour. The Culip IV, that represents trade routes; Deltebre I, which speaks about conflict and life on board; and the Cala Sant Vicenç, that illustrates ancestral shipbuilding techniques.
The final part of the exhibition moves pass the excavation to show what happens next, how the recovered objects are conserved and interpreted. Why this heritage must be protected and how it is threatened today by climate change and looting.
