A Roman Marble Cargo from a Shipwreck at Porto Cervo, Sassari, Sardinia, Italy

Results of laboratory analyses of samples of marble blocks found in a shipwrecked cargo at Porto Cervo demonstrate that they were almost certainly from the Apuan Alps, which implies that the ship came from the Roman city of Luna. Ceramic finds provide a date from the end of the 2nd-beginning of the 3rd century AD. There are doubts regarding the destination of the vessel, which could have been Africa or Sicily, although a much more hazardous passage through the Strait of Bonifacio cannot be excluded. Dimensions of the blocks suggest that they were destined to be used in the construction of a public building, while the high tonnage of the cargo indicates a ship about 33 m in length.