Ancient ram from naval battle between Rome and Carthage found off Sicily

An almost 2,300-year-old relic from a Roman warship, used during a pivotal naval between Rome and Carthage, has been recovered off western Sicily, according to regional authorities. The bronze battering ram, dating back to the 3rd century B.C., was used in the Battle of the Aegates. It was discovered at a depth of 80 meters in the waters surrounding the Aegates Islands, where Rome decisively defeated Carthage in 241 B.C., marking a turning point in the First Punic War. 

Carthage, an ancient city located in what is now Tunisia, grew into a powerful maritime Empire by the 6^th century B.C. The First Punic War resulted in a Roman victory and Carthage’s subsequent decline. The ram, the 27th of its kind found since the 2000s, was retrieved by divers from the Society for the Documentation of Underwater Sites and is now being studied in Favignana- one of the Aegates islands. The front of the battering ram has a relief decoration with a Montefortino-type helmet with three feathers at the top, while seaweed and shell deposits make it impossible for the moment to see any inscriptions. The discovery adds to a collection of artifacts from the battle, including Roman helmets, swords, coins, and amphorae.