In July 2019, a resident of Can Pastilla made an extraordinary discovery. A few metres from the shore lay the wreck of a ship. A summer storm had churned up the waters of Palma Bay and had exposed a Roman wreck. There had been anecdotal evidence of the existence of this wreck for decades. There was now clear evidence. The Council of Mallorca stated that it was of "great heritage value".
The wreck is from the fourth century. Its cargo of amphora jugs contained wine, olives, oil and garum fermented fish sauce. Divers have since discovered items such as a carpenter's drill and an oil lamp.
The Council of Mallorca now intends to lift the wreck, referred to as the Ses Fontanelles wreck because of its proximity to the Fontanelles wetland area of Playa de Palma. The tender for the work to extract it has a budget of €57,000 (plus IVA, i.e. VAT). This includes the installation of work tents, preservation equipment, floating infrastructure, machinery, and so on.
The ship is well preserved, but having been exposed it is vulnerable. Protective measures are to be enhanced, and preliminary work for the extraction and future desalination will begin with the construction of a tank at the Castillo de San Carlos in Palma; the tender for this is just over €150,000.
A further tender, 260,000 euros, is for an exhibition about the ship at the Council's La Misercòrdia headquarters in Palma.