Anchor from St. Paul’s Shipwreck Recovered in Malta, Researchers Claim

Archeologists claim to have identified an ancient anchor in Saint Thomas Bay of Malta, which could have belonged to a ship which St. Paul carried way back 60 A.D.

The claim originated from the Bible Archeology Search and Exploration (BASE) Institute, which conveyed the scriptural story on their website to declare their discoveries.

The researchers are confident they have made an official disclosure as the anchor was dated back to the first-century Roman Era. Saint Paul, according to the Christian tradition, was going to the Roman Empire together with Saint Luke to issue an appeal to Caesar when it shipwrecked on the Mediterranean island due to storm.

According to what Saint Luke wrote to the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul's ship was struck on a sandbar and ran aground. "Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta," the scripture added.

The scripture likewise took note of the four anchors that were dropped from the ship and cut free, enabling the ship to steer into the rocks.

The religious group dedicated to finding evidence that supports scripture added: "In approximately 60 A.D., a ship carrying 276 men and a cargo of grain shipwrecked off the coast of Malta."

Referring to geographic outlines, and the Biblical portrayal of the area where the ship steered into the rocks, BASE acknowledged that St. Thomas Bay "has all the earmarks of a prime suspect" to the wreck's location.

Bob Cornuke, the leader of BASE, explained to Fox News in an email that the shipwreck in Malta had existed for too long that it was permanently carved in the Maltese culture.

BASE said that the proof which links the anchor to the recent shipwreck's discovery is "virtually overwhelming." However, the best thing the religious group did was to examine the evidence in terms of probability.

Cornuke added that the researchers verified the course of ship's drift, which matched the Biblical description, using a computer system that is usually used for search and rescue operations in Malta.

"The only bay, which matched all the criteria in scripture and computer findings, was St. Thomas Bay," Cornuke told Fox News.

The critics, however, have disputed that there is no proof affirming that the anchor is among the remaining parts of the old ship stated in sacred writing.

Another anchor marked with ancient engravings was likewise discovered in Salina on the northern coast of Malta in 2005. While Malta Archaeological Survey proved that the Salina area was used as one of the harbors before, the retrieved anchor in that area was indirectly associated with St. Paul's shipwreck.

On the other hand, nearby divers retrieved the four ancient anchors from Saint Thomas Bay in the 1960s, as cited by the Express-News report. BASE said the fourth anchor was preserved as part of the deceased diver's legacy to his widow.