Divers find 14th-century shipwreck off Dénia coast

A SHIPWRECK dating back to the 14th century has been found on the sea floor off Las Marinas.

Two Dénia divers, Rafa Martos and Javier Reyes, said they 'felt like they had won the lottery' after stumbling upon the remains of the craft and three 'magnificently-preserved' pottery pieces inside it.

Currently baptised as the Martos Wreck, after one of its finders, the ship has been studied closely by Dénia's local archaeologist Josep A Gisbert and a recent presentation and video was given in the castle grounds.

Gisbert says Dénia's coast 'hides a dense network of historical information', including hundreds of years of shipwrecks dating back from the ancient Greeks to the 19th century.

But remains of passenger and trade boats from the Middle Ages are a rare find.

Of these, only four have been found, including the famous Tesoro de las Rotas ('Las Rotas Treasure') – small fry compared to the actual total of grounded ships known to have been hidden beneath Dénia's waves.

The ceramic pieces – a small shield, a bowl and a jar with green glass decorative el- ements – have enabled the town hall to date the ship – and at least one of them clearly bears the stamp of the old Paterna (Valencia province) tile factory pattern.

All artefacts found off Dénia's coast will soon be on dis- play in the history museum in the Marchioness of Valero de Palma's palace and in the new Sea Museum planned in the former lonja, or harbour market building, once both of these have been renovated.