2000 year old Greek Antikythera shipwreck yields more treasures

Scientists have recently raised some more treasures including a part of a Greek board game and a bronze arm chair (it’s probably the remnants of a primeval throne) from the location of the Antikythera shipwreck. The ruins of the ship are currently located of a Greek island called Antikythera.

The said shipwreck took place way back in 65 B.C. The modern world came to know about the incident when a group of sponge fishermen discovered the wrecked ship in 1900. Since then, the remains of the ship have been studied periodically.

The year 2015 saw archaeologists discover a petite table jug or lagynos, an undamaged amphora (a vase-like container), and chiseled stone (its rectangular shape indicates that it might be a statuette base) from the site. Also, upon digging the seafloor, they came across a fragment of a bone flute, broken pieces of bronze, iron and glass, and broken ceramics.

According to archaeologists involved with the project, a bronze part discovered by the team might be a part of an ancient throne. A tiny piece of glass, according to them, on the other hand, might be a pawn used in a chess-like game.

Brendan Foley, the co-director of the project, said that the Antikythera shipwreck is not yet fully exhausted as each and every dive onto it is delivering a bunch of fabulous finds. According to Foley, the objects obtained by archaeologists are helping them in finding out how exactly the 1 percent used to live during those ancient years.

Ilias Stadiatis, the first ever sponge diver to investigate the Antikythera shipwreck in 1900, succeeded in bringing a bronze arm from a massive statue of 50 meters (164 feet) to the sea surface. This prompted the Green government to send naval support to the region. Divers taking part in the expedition brought up a total of 36 marble statues. Other than those statues of gods and heroes, the divers also found skeletons of the passengers and the crew and a range of exciting luxury items.

The very next year i.e. the year 1901 saw divers bring up an astronomical calendar. Termed as Antikythera mechanism, the calendar could find out the locations of different heavenly bodies such as Mars, Mercury and Venus. Experts say that it’s the most intricate ancient object to be discovered to date.

This year saw archaeologists spend a total of 40 hours exploring the wreckage. Other than discovering the cargo, they also found a couple of lead hull sheathing, lead anchor stocks and a lead salvage ring. Also, the researchers also came across wood and nails that once were parts of the wrecked ship.

This year’s expedition was facilitated by the 3D map created last year. Additionally, the researchers’ dives were recorded by a vehicle operated remotely.