Antikythera wreck yields new treasures

[frigidmagi]

BBC

An international expedition says it has made further, remarkable finds at the site of the Antikythera shipwreck.

The vessel, which dates from 70-60BC, was famously first identified by Greek sponge divers more than 100 years ago.

Its greatest treasure is the remains of a geared "computer" that was used to calculate the positions of astronomical objects.

The new archaeological investigations have retrieved tableware, ship components, and a giant bronze spear.

This weapon was probably attached to a warrior statue, the dive team believes.

Antikythera shipwreck
The spear probably belonged to a giant statue
Previous expeditions have found several such statues made of bronze and marble.

The new excavation effort, which ran from 15 September to 7 October, was led by the Hellenic Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, Greece, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, US.

The wreck is in 55m of water and requires divers use rebreathers. Even so, their time on the bottom is limited to just three hours.

As a consequence, the expedition witnessed the first use of a new robotic Iron Man-like diving apparatus called the Exosuit. This enables its occupants to stay down for up to 50 hours, if necessary.

The team plans to return next year. It is believed many more treasures await discovery.

There has been speculation that the vessel, which was probably travelling from the coast of Asia Minor to Rome when lost, was carrying a soon-to-be-married woman and her dowry.

WHOI marine archaeologist Brendan Foley recently told the BBC that he hoped to find additional parts to the Antikythera Mechanism, or other automata.

[rhoenix]

I've been watching this in my news feed over the past few days, and it's made me smile. To this day we're still making new discoveries about our past and the universe around us, and I think that it's glorious.

[Josh]

Not just 'to this day', but what's cool is that the pace is accelerating, and we're constantly revising things and pushing the frontiers of knowledge back further and further.