The Aegean Sea has been considered a gold mine for archeologists who are seeking to locate historical artifacts. Ever since sponge divers located a 2,000-year-old shipwreck close to the Greek island Antikythera back in the 1900s, the race to recover whatever is left of the ship has been ongoing without much success.
However, things are about to change as engineers have created a new exosuit that weighs around 530 pounds and is designed to visit the depths of the Antikythera. The suit is so advanced that divers can stay within it for long hours without suffering from decompression or any other sickness. Bear in mind that this exosuit can be submerged to over 1,000 feet underwater, so its ability to keep divers safe at that range is quite impressive.
"It's likely that sediment will hold the kind of stuff we can't even imagine," according to Brendan Foley, a co-director of the project to locate these artifacts and a maritime archaeologist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). "Our eyes light up thinking about it. It's the kind of thing that wakes you up in the middle of the night. These are artifacts that have never been seen since the time of Caesar."
We understand that some of the artifacts found were dated to have been created during the 4th century B.C. Furthermore, many historians believe that the shipwrecked vessel was carrying cargo from Greece to Rome around the time of the legendary Julius Caesar. However, archeologists are not able to tell what caused the wreckage, and if anyone survived because bodies were found alongside the vessel.
Interestingly enough, another shipwrecked vessel is close by and said to be the currently found ship's companion. It would now help determine if both vessels were attacked or were caught in a deadly storm. However, the possibility of having been attacked is higher since both of them sank in close proximity.
It would be interesting to see how well this exosuit is able to perform because it is basically a wearable submarine if anything else. We also have to say we are quite impressed with this device, as it shows how far technology has come since the 4th century.
