The world-famous shipwreck that yielded the mysterious Antikythera mechanism is not done revealing its secrets. In a year of good weather, a lot of artefacts shedding light on the lifestyle of the ancient rich were found. These objects, such as bronze ware, show archeologists how it was to be part of the "1%" millennia ago.
The found objects may seem lackluster on the outside, but what it reveals about the life during those times is priceless. For instance, artefacts include a bone flute, a bronze armrest which could have been part of an ancient throne, glassware, ceramics, and a piece of an unknown board game, Fox News reported.
The wreckage dates back to 65BC but was only found in 1900 by sponge divers. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution said in a press release that "every single dive on it delivers fabulous finds, and reveals how the '1%' lived in the time of Caesar."
Woods Hole is carrying out the first systematic excavation of the site using robotic submersibles. More than 60 dives were carried out in the last month alone. "We were very lucky this year, as we excavated many finds within their context, which gave us the opportunity to take full advantage of all the archaeological information they could provide," an archaeologist part of the research team says.
The "Titanic of the Ancient World," as the shipwreck is known, is also the one of the biggest underwater archaeological projects of the world, according to Newser. One thing that the team found out is that there really is a need to dig deeper to reveal the extent of the wreckage. "There's obviously stuff down there," says one researcher. "We just weren't digging deep enough before."
Do you think the "Titanic of the Ancient World" has more precious cargo comparable to the recent haul of the Spanish Tricentennial coin worth half a million dollars? Share this article to start a discussion about it!
