The latest expedition to the Antikythera shipwreck in Greece has recovered artifacts that offer a rare glimpse into ancient Greek culture. Among the recovered antiquities were a giant bronze spear, ship components and tableware.
The wreck is believed to have been a Roman vessel that set sail and sank over 2,000 years ago. Also known as the "Titanic of the ancient world," the sunken ship was discovered by chance in 1900 inshore of Antikythera Island in southern Greece. The discovery was immediately followed by recovery operations.
Among the ship's luxury cargo rescued by divers over a century ago included jewelry, furniture and coins that date back to 4th century B.C. Artworks were also found; some of which were statues made of bronze and marble that are now displayed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The most notable find is what is described to be the oldest analog computer in the world, the "Antikythera mechanism," which was made to predict astronomical positions and eclipses.
Early salvage operations were plagued with difficulties because exploring the wreck site several decades ago was risky. One of the divers died and two others were paralyzed. The development of advanced and far safer diving gear, however, has made possible the latest attempt to explore the shipwreck.
Led by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the new expedition to the shipwreck ran from Sept. 15 to Oct. 7 and marked the first time that the robotic diving apparatus called Exosuit, which allows divers to go down 1,000 feet deep and stay underwater up to 50 hours if necessary, was used.
The divers were also able to create high-resolution 3D maps of the wreck site using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with camera and this revealed that the wreckage might be covering 984 feet and that the doomed ancient commercial ship could be up to 164 feet long.
Among the rescued artifacts from the site included anchors and a rigging ring that scientists believe indicate how much of the remains of the sunken vessel survived under the sand.
"Components of the ship, including multiple lead anchors over a meter long and a bronze rigging ring with fragments of wood still attached, prove that much of the ship survives," the WHOI said.
Divers also recovered a table jug, bed leg and bronze spear measuring 6.5 feet. Watch this video of the latest exploration of the Antikythera shipwreck.
