Swiss research team: new insights into the wreck of Antikythera in Greece

The wreck of Antikythera is best known from the movie “Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny”. Far from the movie fantasy, an international team of archaeologists, divers, engineers and natural scientists has once again excavated the famous wreck, according to the ESAG (Ecole Suisse d’Archéologie en Grèce/Swiss Archaeological School in Greece) website.

Excavations focused on the area on the eastern edge of the sinking area, where fragments of monumental-sized marble statues had been found last year after the removal of a group of large boulders.

This time, the team discovered the Bone remains of at least one other person who was a tragic victim of the devastating shipwreck. Artifacts characteristic of the Antikythera wreck, including fragments of marble statues, pottery, glassware, and parts of the ship’s structure made of copper alloys, lead, and wood, have also been uncovered.

Of the newly found marble fragments, one probably belongs to the beard on the head of Heracles, previously discovered during the 2022 expedition, it said. These finds confirmed the cultural and artistic importance of the Antikythera wreck.

In addition, according to ESAG, an important discovery was made in a higher layer of the stratigraphy: several fragments of late antique pottery material were uncovered, suggesting that another, probably much smaller vessel suffered the same tragic fate in the Proto-Byzantine period.

The 1st century B.C. BC Antikythera wreck is the richest ancient shipwreck ever discovered in Greece. In 1900 it was found by sponge fishermen off the coast of the island of Antikythera.

The merchant ship was from Greece and was on its way to Italy when it sank. In this very famous wreck, the famous «Antikythera Mechanism», the oldest known astronomical calculator, was found in 1902.

This machine, with dozens of multi-level bronze gears, described the movements of the sun, moon and planets visible to the naked eye, and even made it possible to predict solar eclipses.

The progress of the excavations was meticulously documented through the use of remote-controlled drones and digital recordings by the divers. According to ESAG, this data was processed daily using 3D modeling software, which allowed the excavation site to be visualized and analyzed with great accuracy.

Since 2021, the project is coordinated by the University of Geneva under the auspices of ESAG, based at the University of Lausanne. The main objective of the project, which is expected to last until 2025, was to gain a better understanding of the ship, its route, its cargo and the current condition of the wreck. (cst/sda)