Antikythera - 2021

Antikythera. Angeliki Simosi (Ephorate of Antiquities of Euboea) and Lorenz Baumer (ESAG / University of Geneva) report on the results of a survey carried out on the shipwreck of Antikythera, launching a new five year underwater research programme on the context (2022–2025).

Work in 2021 focussed on created a full 3d photogrammetric model of the shipwreck. The integration of new and old data will result in a complete documentation of the ship, which sunk in the first century BC.

One of the key goals of the project is to clarify the existence of other remnants of the Antikythera Mechanism from the shipwreck, where the ship has been covered over as the result of a landslide; there might also be connections between the vessels and people on board vessels A and B. Another important goal is the discovery and collection of finds, including human skeletal remains, and parts of the cargo.

The most important find to date is a marble statue trapped under a heavy boulder. Initial documentation was carried out by photogrammetry, while further research will follow in due course. Smaller wooden and copper structural elements of the ship were retrieved, as well as small pieces of ceramic that will be useful for dating the cargo.