Ex-US ambassador sticks up for Malta

Former US ambassador to Malta Kathryn Proffitt has asked a court to stop the distribution of a book that disputes the location of the Apostle Paul's shipwreck off the coast of Malta, Reuters has reported.

The author of The Lost Shipwreck of Paul, Robert Cornuke, president of the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute in Colorado, is claiming that St Paul's ship sank at "the opposite end of the island near fishing villages" and not off its northeast tip, what is known as St Paul's Bay.

According to Reuters, his conclusion is based on having located four anchors that match the description in the bible.

Mr Cornuke's Colorado Springs organisation believes the bible is a non-fictional account and should be interpreted literally.

If his theory stands, the fishing villages may become quite valuable, while the area near St Paul's Bay would be less popular with tourists, Mr Cornuke said.

Around 50,000 copies of The Lost Shipwreck of Paul have been printed and 10,000 have already been sold to distributors. The book has been on sale since May 5.

Ms Proffitt, who was ambassador between 1997 and 2001, still seems to hold Malta's interests at heart.

She testified in the Denver Federal Court that she had an oral agreement with the author for her and the Maltese government to have editorial control over the book.

But, according to Reuters, Mr Cornuke has said he never gave editorial power to the former ambassador.

The author has led expeditions to search for what he has characterised as the real Mount Sinai and has also looked for the remains of Noah's Ark in Turkey.

Ms Proffitt was quoted as saying that Malta is a devoutly religious country and any issue about the shipwreck is important.

Contacted for expert advice on Mr Cornuke's theory, the head of the Department of Archaeology at the university, Anthony Bonanno, was more than aware of the book, having been consulted by the author while he was compiling his data.

However, Prof. Bonanno was somewhat surprised at the fact that it had already been published.

Prof. Bonanno said Ms Proffitt had only recently contacted him asking him to vet two versions and approve one of them - which he had done.

Ms Proffitt wanted to ensure that the correct version would be printed, he said.

Prof. Bonanno said the variation between the versions lay in "fine points", which would, however, make a difference.

Mr Cornuke had asked Prof. Bonanno about the range of date of an anchor stock he had shown him. The author claimed that the anchor stock was found off Marsaxlokk, precisely at Munxar reef, and, on that basis, was suggesting that St Paul was shipwrecked there.

Prof. Bonanno said, however, that he was not in a position to say whether Mr Cornuke was correct as regards the location.

"If you analyse the Acts of St Paul, the description fits several places in Malta, the best being Qawra Point. But the reef mentioned by Mr Cornuke would also fit the description," he said.

Tradition has led to that area, which is close to Mdina, being associated with St Paul's shipwreck, Prof. Bonanno explained, adding that several anchor stocks, dating back to the period between 100 BC to 100 AD, had been found at Qawra Point.