Divers Pull Marble Head of Hercules From a 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck in Greece

Disir

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Sep 30, 2011
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Divers uncovered the head this summer, according to a statement from “Return to Antikythera,” a project dedicated to researching the site. The wreck dates to around 60 B.C.E., and it was first discovered off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera by a group of sponge divers in 1900. The site has revealed multiple bronze and marble statues, human remains and—perhaps most famously—the Antikythera Mechanism, which some call the first computer.
But since then, only a handful of researchers have investigated the wreck. Until the “Return to Antikythera” project began studying it in 2012, the last expedition was in the mid-1970s under the watch of explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

These latest excavations involved relocating natural boulders—each weighing up to 8.5 tons—that had covered parts of the shipwreck, per the statement. In addition to the marble head, divers also discovered parts of the base of a marble statue, pieces of the ship’s equipment (including components of the anchor) and two human teeth.

This is pretty awesome. I know that there were smaller sundials that people carted around with them when they traveled. I wonder if they will find anything similar to the Antikythera Mechanisms on any of the other shipwrecks. It makes absolutely sense for it to be there.
 
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That's fascinating. It's rare also that art from that period still has some paint on it. I can't wait to see it restored!
 

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