Two human teeth embedded in a compact mass with copper traces were found during the May 23-June 15 underwater excavation of the Antikythera island shipwreck that dates to around 60 BC, the Greek Ministry of Culture & Sports said on Sunday, according to ANA.
Another finding during this marine excavation season was a greater-than-lifesize marble head of a man with a beard, which is identified as the Farnese type of Hercules, and could provide a fit with the headless statue no. 5742 at the National Archaeological Museum that was found by sponge divers in 1900.
The season is part of a five-year (2021-2025) excavation program at the well-known shipwreck that has yielded among other things the Antikythera Mechanism – an ancient calculation system – and several bronze and marble statues including the Antikythera youth, an emblematic exhibit of the National Museum.
Other findings also included a lot of objects from the ship’s equipment, including copper and iron nails, and shapeless metal agglomerations covered by a crust of frozen water.
The Antikythera shipwreck, the richest ancient wreck ever discovered, according to the site dedicated to the project (http://antikythera.org.gr/), was discovered by Greek sponge divers in 1900. Following salvage operations by the Hellenic Navy that pulled out statues and the Mechanism, dives by underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau with the approval of the Greek government in 1976 and under the supervision of Greek archaeologist Dr. Lazaros Kolonas (who had dived only for three days in 1953), systematic excavations began at 2012.
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Photo Source: Greek Ministry of Culture & Sports
