The Second Life of a Phoenix

Over half a century ago, maritime archaeologist Honor Frost led an interdisciplinary team that uncovered an exceptional Punic shipwreck off the western coast of Sicily.

The excavation, study, and conservation of the shipwreck—dated to the 3rd century BCE and now on display at the Museo Archeologico Regionale Lilibeo–Marsala—marked a groundbreaking achievement in the history of underwater archaeology. To this day, the Punic Ship of Marsala remains the only surviving ancient galley of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Second Life of a Phoenix takes shape from an unfinished manuscript by Honor Frost, recently discovered in her personal archives. In her Sicilian memoir, she recounts firsthand her experiences, challenges, and discoveries as director of the Punic Ship Project, while delving into the intellectual debates shaping the emerging discipline of maritime archaeology at that time. She illustrates the Mediterranean environment within which the ‘phoenix-ship’ likely came to grief; and the Sicilian context where she was able to bring it back to a second life.

The original manuscript comprises seven complete chapters (covering the years 1969–1973), along with notes for five additional chapters spanning the following years. The editors—both maritime archaeologists—introduce and contextualize the work, and provide a vital reconstruction of the unfinished sections.

The volume includes 72 photographs and maps, many drawn from Frost’s personal archive, and is published in both English and Italian, in accordance with her wishes, to ensure her story reaches the community of Marsala and beyond.