In the latest discovery of the ongoing underwater excavations at the Antikythera shipwreck site – famous for the Antikythera mechanism – archaeologists brought to light a portion of the ship’s hull preserved in excellent condition still in its original position from when the vessel sank in the first century B.C.
“This allows us to better understand the ship’s construction characteristics that had remained elusive until now, but also to determine the precise location and orientation of the wreck,” says University of Geneva archaeologist Lorenz Baumer.
The two-millennia-old wreckage, located at the bottom of the sea off the eastern coast of the small isle of Antikythera, located between between Crete and Peloponnese, was carrying one of the world’s oldest mechanical devices, known as the Antikythera mechanism, apart from its valuable cargo of marble sculptures, ceramic vessels and other items, the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (ESAG) said in a statement.
The device, believed to be an ancient Greek astronomical calculator, has captured the imagination of scientists, researchers and history enthusiasts alike since it was discovered over a century ago.
The site of the wreck was first located off Antikythera in 1900 by sponge divers, who pulled up 82 fragments of the famous mechanism.
Archaeologists believe that the most likely inventors of the device are Archimedes of Samos or Hipparchus of Nicea, depending on which date one accepts for the Antikythera mechanism.
