Archaeologists excavating the famous ancient Greek shipwreck that yielded the Antikythera mechanism have recovered more than 50 items including an intact amphora; a large lead salvage ring; two lead anchor stocks (possibly indicating the ship’s bow); frag (Photo : Brett Seymour, EUA/ARGO)
The ancient shipwreck that revealed the mysterious Antikythera mechanism, which is the world's first analog computer predicting eclipses along with astronomical and astrological events dating back to at least 200 B.C., is now slowly unraveling the luxurious lifestyles of the ancient Greeks.
Scientists recovered more ancient artifacts from this wreck which can be also dubbed as the "Titanic" of the ancient world that include a bone flute, a bronze armrest that could possibly originate from a throne, remnants of glassware and fine ceramic along with a piece from a board game that was played by the Greeks.
According to project co-director and marine archaeologist Brendan Foley from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, this shipwreck is really far from exhausted, where every single dive churns out and delivers more fantastic finds, revealing how the "1%" lived during the time of Caesar.
The ancient shipwreck is dated back to 65 B.C. which is first discovered by sponge divers off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera in 1900 where the Woods Hole is now undergoing its first systematic excavation of the underwater site based on data gathered by a robotic submersible that surveyed the site last year.
The Antikythera shipwreck is also considered to be one of the world's biggest underwater archaeological projects. WHOI also noted that the project was also successful partly due to good weather last month that aided the teams to conduct more than 60 dives across the wreck's sprawling debris field.
Foley also adds that they were indeed lucky this year, as the finds that were excavated are within their context, bringing them an opportunity to take full advantage of archaeological information.The new finds also prompted the divers and the scientists to dig deeper into the ocean floor where one of the last searches carried out last year that used this current technique yielded small bronze pieces, a wine jug and a possible part of a cooking pot. The team believes that more significant finds await them until next year's expedition begins.
