Sponges (resource)

In economic terms, describes a type of aquatic animal, a certain kind of sponge with soft, fibrous skeletons.  The bodies of these particular sponges are soft enough to provide many uses, including padding for helmets, drinking utencils, natural filters, cleaning tools, applicators for cosmetics and paint, even as contraceptives.  Sponges also have natural properties that aid in resistance to viruses, bacteria, tumors and fungi.

Sponges are typically obtained through free-diving from a small boat, using a cylindrical glass object to search the sea floor for sponges.  A free-diver was usually naked and carried a 33 lb. weight, a rounded stone on a rope tied to the boat, to enable a swift sink to the bottom.  Depth and bottom time depended on the diver's lung capacity.

The world's total catch of sponges is 29,286 stone (14 lbs. per stone), with 11 fisheries reporting.  The total value of sponges equals 165,974 g.p. annually (5.67 g.p./stone).

As treasure, 2½ lbs. of plundered sponges = 1 x.p.

The largest sponge fishing provinces in order of importance are the Dodecanese Islands, Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Cyprus, Sfax and Tarabulus, all within the Ottoman Empire.

See Resources