Recovering Precious Artefacts

This, from the Skipper...

The ocean holds many secrets, among them the countless shipwrecks that rest on its floor. These submerged vessels are time capsules, offering a glimpse into the past and an adventure like no other. Diving for shipwreck treasure combines the thrill of exploration with the potential for discovering unimaginable riches.

Shipwreck diving is not just about the treasure. It's about the history and the stories of the ships that met their fate in the depths of the sea. Each wreck is a story waiting to be told, from maritime trade to naval battles. The eerie beauty of these underwater sites provides a haunting experience that captivates the imagination.

The treasures found can vary from hoards of silver and gold, to valuable artifacts and personal items that tell the human stories of those who perished at sea. Some divers have turned their passion for history and diving into a career, uncovering significant finds and contributing to our understanding of the past.

LOCATION: 35° 52′ 0″ N, 23° 18′ 0″ E

Sometime during the (Northern) Spring of 1900, Captain Dimitrios Kondos and his crew of sponge divers weighed anchor on the Greek island of Symi (36° 35′ 0″ N, 27° 50′ 0″ E), which is about 20 nautical miles NWN from Rhodes (36° 10′ 12″ N, 27° 55′ 12″ E). Captain Kondos' passage plan would take them through the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, en route to the fishing grounds off North Africa, more than 200 nautical miles away.

One assumes that Captain Kondos was an accomplished navigator. Sailing through the Aegean and out to the Mediterranean is not your average Sunday cruise. Greece has thousands of islands, with estimates ranging from 1,200 to 6,000, depending on what would be reasonably be classified as an island. Kondos would have to navigate through a group of islands called the Dodecanese, hopefully with the aid of early charts of the Aegean Sea.

Modern navigation charts also show other dangers, like reefs and shipwrecks, that may become submerged at high tide, so it is unimaginable that the ancient mariners navigated without the aid of charts.

I suspect Captain Kondos would have used a dry card compass and a quadrant, or octant, for navigation. Liquid filled compasses were not in general use by the Royal Navy until 1908, and the state-of-the-art Henry Hughes & Son's Dead Beat compass was not in general use until the 1930's.

As they approached the Mediterranean, there must have been unfavorable southerly winds, so captain Kondos decided to drop anchor in the sheltered waters off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island of Antikythera (35° 52′ 0″ N, 23° 18′ 0″ E). Once at anchor, the crew decided they would dive at the idyllic location.

In those days, divers would have worn the standard diving dress consisting of a hard-hat (diving helmet) which was bolted to the watertight gasket of a waterproof canvas dive suit and, as the story goes, when the first crew member, Elias Stadiatist, got his diving gear on and went overboard, he descended 45 metres (148 feet) to the seabed.

On reaching the bottom, he thought he saw strange things among the rocks, so he quickly signaled top-side that he wanted to surface.

Once Elias was back on board the boat he recounted what he thought he had seen to captain Kondos. But given how strange it sounded, and the depth of the dive, the captain though Elias was hallucinating due to nitrogen narcosis (from the Greek word νάρκωσις (narkōsis), meaning "the act of making numb"). So the captain decided to go down and see for himself.

Captain Kondos soon returned to the surface with an arm from a bronze statue. So it was apparent to the captain and crew that they had discovered a significant Roma-era shipwreck. However it is not known how many more dives they made on the wreck, or what else they recovered before they weighed anchor and left Atikythera to resume their passage to to collect sponges in the waters off Northern Africa. It was Captain Kondos' plan to return to the Atikythera shipwreck once the fishing season was over.

When they returned to Antikythera, to see what other treasures they could find, Krondos and his crew reportedly recovered more bronze statues, coins and other artefacts.

Sometime after their return from Antikythera, Captain Krondos reported their discovery to the authorities in Athens, and soon after the Hellenic Navy sent ships to assess the wreck site and, in collaboration with the Greek Education Ministry, began an official archaeological salvage operation.

By 1901, with the official salvage operation well underway, it is reported that the sponge divers and the Navy had recovered a number of significant Greek bronze statues, one named "The Philosopher", and another, the "Youth (Ephebe) of Antikythera" was dated circa. 340 BC. There were also thirty-six marble sculptures of the Greek Gods, marble statues of horses, a bronze Lyre and several pieces of glass-work.

Many other small and common artefacts were recovered, and the entire haul was taken to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

In the summer of 1901, after the unfortunate death of diver Giorgos Kritikos, and the paralysis of two other divers due to decompression sickness, the salvage operation was shut down.

While specialists from the National Archaeological Museum were examining the artefacts and determining how best to conserve them, archaeologist Valerios Stais made possibly the most important find in the history of marine archaeology. On 17 May 1902, Stais noticed that a badly corroded piece of bronze had legible Greek inscriptions on it and what looked like a gear wheel embedded in it. The object would become known as the Antikythera mechanism, which many archaeologists regard as the world's oldest known analogue computer.

Since its discovery in 1902, the Antikythera mechanism has been the subject of intense speculation as to how was it manufactured, who invented it, and for what purpose was it created.

Marine archaeology is a fascinating field that combines history, adventure, and science. Over the years, marine archaeologists have recovered a myriad of precious artefacts from the depths of the ocean, providing invaluable insights into our past. The process of recovering these treasures is complex and requires a blend of traditional archaeological methods and cutting-edge technology.

One of the significant advancements in recent years has been the use of digital technologies in shipwreck archaeology. Robotics, photogrammetry, and marine geophysics, which have been around since the 1960s, are now more accessible and are deployed from small inflatable boats rather than large research vessels. These tools have revolutionized the way archaeologists locate and study shipwrecks and their contents.

The incorporation of biomolecular archaeology, geophysics, and contemporary philosophy has spurred on a rapid modernization of marine archaeology. Through scientific methods like molecular analysis and genetic information, artefacts can be investigated to reveal a rich tapestry of information. This approach allows archaeologists to understand the provenance and history of the artefacts they excavate to the greatest extent possible.

In addition to technological advancements, there has been a shift towards in situ preservation. UNESCO has proposed this as the primary principle for the protection of underwater cultural heritage. This approach acknowledges that due to the difficulties and costs associated with underwater excavation, not every site can be recovered. Instead, efforts are made to preserve artefacts in their original location.

The recovery of artefacts is not just about bringing objects to the surface; it's about preserving the stories they tell and the history they represent. From ancient naval battles to shipwrecks that have become ecological hotspots, marine archaeologists work diligently to uncover and protect our submerged cultural heritage.

Marine archaeology is a testament to human curiosity and our desire to understand the past. The recovered artefacts are more than just items; they are a connection to the generations that came before us, and marine archaeologists are the custodians of these precious links to our history.