Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims
The traditional landing site and lead anchor stocks said to be from Paul's ship — unproven
Found 2003 — Lead anchor stocks raised by Maltese divers off Munxar Reef between the late 1960s and 1994; publicised by Robert Cornuke (BASE Institute) in The Lost Shipwreck of Paul (2003). St Paul's Bay is the older tradition
Where St Paul's Bay (traditional) and St Thomas Bay, Malta (Malta)
Dates from c. 60 CE (event); anchors 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Roman Imperial · Paul's voyage to Rome (Acts 27–28)
Now at Two anchor stocks: Malta Maritime Museum, Birgu (Vittoriosa); one in a private collection; others lost or sold. The bays are open sea
How Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims was found
Cornuke's book claimed anchors lifted from the sea off the south-east coast (one at about 27 metres, others shallower) match the four anchors cut loose in Acts 27:29–40 and place the wreck at St Thomas Bay rather than St Paul's Bay. The anchors are Roman, but such stocks are common around Malta and none can be tied to a specific ship or year; one was melted down and two were sold.
What it is
Lead anchor stocks (the crossbar of a Roman wooden anchor) weighing several hundred kilograms, of the type used by large grain ships. St Paul's Bay, the traditional site, has a small islet with a 19th-century statue of Paul and a place 'where two seas met' (Acts 27:41) has been argued for at its entrance.
Why it matters for the Bible
Acts 27–28 gives the most detailed sea voyage in ancient literature, and Malta (Melite) is named outright. The island, its bays, the 'northeaster' wind, and the depths Luke records all fit. The anchors show what a ship like Paul's carried, but the claim that these four are his cannot be tested and is rejected by most maritime archaeologists. Readers should treat the bay as tradition and the anchors as illustration, not proof.
The Hebrew word: OH-gen
עֹגֶן
עֹגֶן is pronounced OH-gen and means anchor (Greek ankyra) (Strong's G45).
People this discovery connects to
- Paul — שָׁאוּל (Shah-OOL) — asked for (Greek Paulos)
- Julius the centurion — יוּלִיּוֹס (YOO-lee-os) — Latin Julius, of the Augustan cohort
- Publius — פּוּבְּלִיּוֹס (POOB-lee-os) — Latin Publius, 'first man' of the island
Places
- Malta — מַלְטָה (MAL-tah) — Greek Melite
Events
Shipwreck on Malta · Paul bitten by a viper · Healing of Publius' father
Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims in Scripture
Acts 28:1 The island is named Malta.
Questions people ask
What is Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims?
Lead anchor stocks (the crossbar of a Roman wooden anchor) weighing several hundred kilograms, of the type used by large grain ships. St Paul's Bay, the traditional site, has a small islet with a 19th-century statue of Paul and a place 'where two seas met' (Acts 27:41) has been argued for at its entrance.
When was Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims discovered?
It was found in 2003 by Lead anchor stocks raised by Maltese divers off Munxar Reef between the late 1960s and 1994; publicised by Robert Cornuke (BASE Institute) in The Lost Shipwreck of Paul (2003). St Paul's Bay is the older tradition, at St Paul's Bay (traditional) and St Thomas Bay, Malta.
Where is Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims today?
Two anchor stocks: Malta Maritime Museum, Birgu (Vittoriosa); one in a private collection; others lost or sold. The bays are open sea.
Which Bible verses does Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims relate to?
Acts 28:1.
Is Malta: St Paul's Bay and the Roman Anchor Claims authentic?
Malta as the island is accepted by nearly all scholars (a few argue for Mljet in Croatia). The anchor identification is unproven and widely rejected; the bay is tradition.
Related discoveries
- אֳנִיָּהPuteoli and the Alexandrian Grain FleetThe Bay of Naples port where Paul landed and the giant grain ships he sailed on
- דֶּרֶךְVia Egnatia and the Port of NeapolisThe Roman highway and harbour that carried the Good News into Europe
- תַּרְשִׁישׁTarsus: The Roman Road and Cleopatra's GatePaved street and city gate of Paul's 'no mean city'
- בֵּימָהGallio Inscription (Delphi)Letter of Emperor Claudius naming Gallio proconsul of Achaia — the anchor date for Paul's ministry
- מָקוֹם תְּפִלָּהLydia's Baptism Site on the Gangites (Zygaktis) RiverThe riverside 'place of prayer' outside Philippi where Europe's first recorded believer was immersed
- דַּמֶּשֶׂקDamascus: Straight Street and the Temple of JupiterThe Roman city grid of Acts 9 and the great temple that became the Umayyad Mosque
Sources
- R. Cornuke, The Lost Shipwreck of Paul (2003)
- J. Smith, The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul (4th ed., 1880)
- G. Franz, "Does The Lost Shipwreck of Paul Hold Water?", Associates for Biblical Research
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