Greek Gods´ Luxury Resurfaces from Antikythera Shipwreck

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WHOI Diver in Return of Antikythera 2015 Expedition

A group of International Marine Archaeologists revisited the Antikythera Shipwreck. The shipwreck is known for being the “Titanic of Ancient Times” a treasure of archaeologists. Among the artifacts which have already been recovered from the ship is the oldest analog computer made by humankind -the Antikythera mechanism. 

The team diving Antikythera in 2015 assure that the new finds are "stunning" and that the Ancient Greek Shipwreck´s "Luxury Cargo Survives".

On September 25 Scuba Diving reported on the expedition conducted by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WHOI in collaboration with scientists from the University of Sydney Australia. The expedition took place from August 26 to September 16. The dive site of the mythological shipwreck was revisited over 2 thousand years after the tragedy took place. 

The shipwreck was first discovered in the early 1900s by a group of Greek Sponge Fishermen. Since then it has been excavated. Jacques Cousteau dived the site not once but twice. But even decades after Cousteau took to the waters scientists assure that the site is far from being “exhausted” and that Antikythera still holds many secrets in the depths of its reclaimed waters. 

”Archaeologists excavating the famous ancient Greek shipwreck have recovered more than 50 items including a bronze armrest -possibly part of a throne, remains of a bone flute, fine glassware, luxury ceramics, a pawn from an ancient board game, and several elements of the ship itself,” Scuba Diving reported. 

“This shipwreck is far from exhausted,” project co-Director Dr. Brendan Foley -marine archaeologist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WHOI told the press. “Every single dive on it delivers fabulous finds, and reveals how the ‘1 percent’ lived in the time of Caesar.”

The team also mapped the shipwreck with autonomous ROVs equipped with latest in mapping technology. In 2014 the expedition in the deep blue waters off Antikythera also made history by testing for the first time the Exosuit for deep water diving. Ed O’Brien from WHOI then became the first person to dive the Exosuit.

“One of the ocean’s least studied places is actually the realm between 200 and 500 feet deep. This zone has resisted exploration because it’s too deep for Scuba and not deep enough to warrant the expense of using submarines and underwater robots,” O´Brien explained.

Created by Phil Nuytten of the Canadian company Nuytco Research the aluminum-alloy atmospheric diving system Exosuit eliminates virtually all of the hazards associated with ocean pressure. In a matter of minutes, the suit can descend to depths up to 1,000 feet, and it has the capacity to stay there up to 50 hours exactly. 

“Getting down to 1,000 feet is no trick,” says Nuytten, a deep-sea explorer and entrepreneur. “The problem is how do you get a joint or a suit that's rigid enough to withstand the pressure but flexible enough to work?"

Off the southwestern Aegean island the Antikythera has already yielded incredible artifacts since it was first discovered. What kind of ship travelled which such a cargo is still a mystery. Was it intentionally brought down to the depths? The complete treasure cargo and its full log is what WHOI is after. 

Listed artifacts of the shipwreck include 36 marble statues of mythological Heroes and Gods, a life-sized bronze statue of an Athlete, pieces of several more bronze sculptures and scores of luxury items. The most famous object salvaged from the wreck is the Antikythera Mechanism -geared mechanical device that encoded the movements of the planets and stars and predicted eclipses. The discovery changed society's perception on how advanced humans were in ancient times. 

WHOI explained why it was important to return to the shipwreck in 2015. “The 2015 expedition is part of a long-term research program at the site, which began in 2014. It was the first scientific excavation of the wreck, and launched the first comprehensive study of all of its artifacts,” the organizations assured. 

The team met expectations by recovering new “artifacts and says that ancient artwork is still buried” safe in the seafloor. WHOI is trying to put together the puzzles of history to “recreate the history of the ship’s exquisite cargo and its final voyage”.

The project “Return to Antikythera” belongs to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports with support from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - 

John Fardoulis of WHO running the report Welcome to the 2015 Excavation stated that no efforts were spared in the expedition which even took to Helicopter transit to support the international team of divers at site. 

A team of professional archaeologists dived the site a total of 40 hours of bottom time. At the grounds of the shipwreck they performed “controlled excavation to the highest scientific standard with specially designed equipment”. 

Two dive boats from Crete and Alimos, a mother ship -the MV Glaros provided by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, thousands of kilos of equipment and supplies, tonnes of material to support diving operations and a international ready to go team made up the logistics.

“Some may not realize how logistically demanding this project is, taking science to new limits on a number of fronts,” Fardoulis stated. 

WHOI has already recovered table jarts, lead anchor stock, bronze rigging ring, tableware, ship components, and a giant bronze spear that would have belonged to a life-size warrior statue or perhaps the the ancient Goddess Athena.

“The evidence shows this is the largest ancient shipwreck ever discovered,” says Foley. “It’s the Titanic of the ancient world.”

Some of the best artifacts of the entire collection from Antikythera are on display in Athens. They are set for exhibition in 2015 in Basel, Switzerland.

“The artifacts recovered from the Antikythera Wreck make it one of the most important finds in modern archaeology. The Antikythera Mechanism alone has changed our views of the limits of ancient technology, since it predates anything else approaching its level of sophistication by more than one thousand years,” WHOI says. 

“...the wreck site has remained largely unexplored… still Antikythera holds many secrets...”WHOI ends it.