Pirates & Shipwrecks · Roman-era ship, c. 70 BCE
Antikythera wreck
Antikythera island, Greece
What happened
More than 2,000 years ago a cargo ship sank off the small Greek island of Antikythera. Around Easter 1900, sponge divers found bronze and marble statues on the seabed. With help from the Greek navy, divers brought up statues, coins, jewelry and glass.
Why it matters
One corroded lump from the wreck turned out to be the Antikythera mechanism, a geared device that could model the movements of the sun, moon and planets. Many people call it the world's oldest known analog computer.
What came next
Jacques Cousteau's team returned in 1976 and recovered more objects. New surveys and excavations followed in the 2010s, and the finds are on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Did you know?
The divers also found three marble statues of horses.
Timeline
- c. 75 to 50 BCEThe cargo ship sinks off Antikythera.
- 1900Sponge divers discover the wreck.
- 17 May 1902Archaeologist Valerios Stais notices the mechanism among the finds.
- 1976Jacques Cousteau's team returns and recovers more objects.
- 2012A new survey of the island's wrecks begins.