Yes, it has been several days since our last update, but we’ve been busy.

We concluded this season’s efforts in Syracuse and transited the 90-odd miles south to Malta where we are once again at our operating base on Manoel Island across from the great fortified city of Valletta.

The ISIS and FORTALEZA are now side-by-side as we get ready for the next phase of our 2009 season of exploration. The next project is a detailed ROV survey of an area we previously worked at off the Island of Gozo. Additionally, at the end of our 2008 season we confirmed the existence of an ancient shipwreck at the base of a cliff nearby to the Gozo site and we plan to return to further document what appears to be a 5th century BC shipwreck; possibly the oldest discovered in the Maltese Islands.

Additionally, we have added to our capabilities when the project secured access to a Geometrics Magnetometer. This will help distinguish the ancient non-ferrous material from the more modern artifacts. We plan to put this new tool to use off Malta in late August.