Hidden treasures: Spanish archaeologists discover trove of ancient shipwrecks in Bay of Gibraltar

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Researchers identify wrecks at the bottom of the sea from as far back as the fifth century BC, from Europe and beyond

Dilip Kuner

Malaga

Monday, 20 April 2026, 14:54

Beneath the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean pushes into the Atlantic at the ancient Pillars of Hercules, a team of archaeologists has spent three years peering through the silt of history.

What they found was a submerged graveyard of empires: 151 archaeological sites scattered across the floor of the bay, including 124 shipwrecks, seven historic anchorages, and 20 isolated findings that create a timeline of human nautical ambition spanning over 2,500 years.

Before this research began in 2019, only four underwater sites were known in the area; today, the Bay of Gibraltar is recognised as one of the densest archaeological deposits in the Mediterranean.

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Project Herakles, Professor Felipe Cerezo Andreo of the University of Cádiz discovered that even the most fearsome vessels held personal secrets.

His team excavated the Puente Mayorga IV, an 18th-century Spanish gunboat designed for stealth and ambush against the British. Inside the wreck, they found a curious wooden box carved to look exactly like a book. While Cerezo initially suspected a cache of espionage documents or secret maps, the reality was more human: the "book" was a vanity case containing a pair of wooden combs. Even in the heart of a naval blockade, the Spanish officers were determined to maintain their grooming.

However, this underwater library is currently under siege. To protect the sites, the team uses high-tech monitoring buoys to transmit live video from the seabed and prioritises in situ conservation - leaving the history where it lies rather than disturbing it. Modern threats are proving more destructive than any ancient storm: port dredging, rising sea levels that alter sediment layers, and a suffocating carpet of invasive algae are rapidly eroding the remains.

To save this history before it dissolves, the researchers are using 360-degree VR technology to create "dryland diving" experiences for the public. By digitising everything from fifth-century BC amphorae to WWII propellers, they hope to prove that the Bay of Algeciras is not just a shipping lane - it is a submerged museum that tells the story of how the world first met at the gates to the Mediterranian.