Some sponge divers in 1900 found a shipwreck off the island of Antikythera, Greece (thats near Crete) at a depth of about 170 feet (50-60 meters). Captain Dimitrios Kontos with the help of the Greece Navy undertook the salvage operation. All the divers got the Bends (Nitrogen Narcosis) due to primitive dive equipment and knowledge of diving at those depths (135 feet is max dept, with todays air tanks, beyond that you need to know how to mix gasses on the fly). But not all was lost, they did recover a few planks and other items.
In 1953 and 1976, Jacques-Yves Cousteau investigations of the site found/uncovered the hull, troves of gold ingots, a circa 400 BCE monumental Bronze statue of a youth and the Antikythera Mechanism (the first known astronomical calculator). The Merchant Vessal is estimated to be circa 85 BCE and possibly based in Pergamon (Now Bergama, Turkey).
1900, 1953 and 1976
Name(s):
Dimitrios Kontos (1900),
Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1953 and 1976)
Occupation:
Captains
Location:
off the shore of Island of Antikythera, Greece
Craft:
Merchant Vessal
Additional Information:
- Dimitrios (Dimitris) Kontos | Antikythera Mechanism Research Project
Captain Dimitrios Kontos (in Greek: Δημήτριος Κοντός) and the crew of sponge divers from Symi island discovered the Antikythera wreck during the spring 1900, and recovered the artefacts during the first expedition with the Hellenic Royal Navy, in 1900-1901. - Antikythera wreck – Wikipedia
The Antikythera wreck is a Roman-era shipwreck dating from the 2nd quarter of the 1st century BC. It was discovered by sponge divers off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island of Antikythera in 1900. - Ancient Shipwreck Off Greek Island Yields A Different Sort Of Treasure …
A team of archaeologists diving near the Greek island of Antikythera have reported a startling new discovery from a previously explored 2,000-year-old shipwreck. The find — a very heavy, metal cylinder — offers new insights into the maritime warfare of ancient times, the scientists say. - Antikythera Shipwreck: New Treasures Discovered | Time.com
Two millennia after a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera, the site is still yielding treasures that reveal details of life in ancient times. - Human skeleton found on famed Antikythera shipwreck : Nature News …
Hannes Schroeder snaps on two pairs of blue latex gloves, then wipes his hands with a solution of bleach. In front of him is a large Tupperware box full of plastic bags that each contain sea water and a piece of red-stained bone. - DNA from the deep? Antikythera shipwreck yields ancient human …
Site has already revealed most spectacular cargo ever found from antiquity, but bones are first hope of sequencing DNA from 1st century BC shipwreck victim - How the Antikythera Mechanism Worked
t was another storm that led to the recovery of the mysterious mechanism. In the spring of 1900 a small boat full of sponge divers from an island in the eastern Aegean was making its way to the coast of North Africa when a sudden storm blew it off course. - The Antikythera Shipwreck – The Titanic of the Ancient World and its Sunken Historic Treasure
Some of the world’s greatest archaeological discoveries have been uncovered by chance. The terracotta warriors, for instance, were first discovered in 1974 by Chinese farmers who were digging for a well. - Jacques Cousteau: 1950–1970s – Wikipedia
With the publication of his first book in 1953, The Silent World, he correctly predicted the existence of the echolocation abilities of porpoises.