A Greek shipwreck that was initially discovered a century ago is now being revisited by undersea excavators, and it appears that their latest underwater exploration has led them to a much bigger finding.
The excavators now believe that the ancient Greek shipwreck, which is said to be 2,000 years of age, is perhaps the biggest treasure-filled sunken ship ever, CS Monitor has learned.
It can be noted that a lot of remarkable things have been recovered from the age-old sunken Antikythera ship, such as ancient tableware, lead anchors and a giant bronze spear.
"The evidence shows this is the largest ancient shipwreck ever discovered," Marine Archaeologist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts Brendan Foley said of the Greek shipwreck. "It's the Titanic of the ancient world," he quipped.
Foley and his team are using a suite of high-tech equipment in their underwater expedition that has been on-going for a couple of weeks now.
In exploring the Antikythera Greek shipwreck, Foley and his men have tested a semi-robotic Exosuit for diving and staying under the sea for longer periods of time of up to 50 hours.
Based on previous undersea expedition findings, the large Greek wreck likely sank between 70 B.C. and 60 B.C. while it was heading to Rome from Asia Minor.
In 1900, sponge fishermen discovered the shipwreck 50 meters down a steep undersea slope off the coast of Antikythera, reported The Record.
The first divers and explorers of the ship have salvaged a number of treasures from it, including bronze and marble statues of heroes and horses, authentic jewelry, glassware, furniture and even the Antikythera mechanism, which is a complex astronomical calculator.
At that time however, underwater exploration of the sunken ship proved to be very dangerous. One diver reportedly died while two others were left paralyzed.
For many years, proper investigation on the wreck was not properly realized because of accessibility issues.
However, with the help of modern technology, marine archaeologists are now able to explore the Greek shipwreck.
Foley's U.S. and Greek-led team has even comprehensively mapped the seabed despite the challenging conditions brought about by strong winds.
"I don't know what there is - perhaps more works of art or parts of the ship's equipment, but we really have to dig," Angeliki Simossi, head of Greece's underwater antiquities department, said.
According to Simossi's analysis on the artifacts they have collected from the wreck so far, the vessel may had been sailing from a Greek island to Italy, carrying certain masterpieces and works of art, in response to the demands of rich or cosmopolitan Romans who wanted to decorate their villas with pieces from Roman-conquered Greece.
"It was a floating museum, carrying works from various periods; one bronze statue dates from 340 BC, another from 240 BC, while the Antikythera Mechanism was made later," Simossi noted. "This was when the trade in works of art started."
The exploring team found remnants of the Greek shipwreck strewn over some 1,000 feet of seafloor. Planks and other parts of the ship were also recovered and the components suggest that the sunken vessel was perhaps stretching up to 160 feet, noted History.com.
The undersea excavators are planning to return next year for further exploration on the Greek shipwreck.
"We have a lot of work to do at this site to uncover its secrets," Hellenic Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities representative Theotokis Theodoulou said.
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