A new phase of the Antikythera expedition has now been undertaken by the Swiss School of Archeology under the direction of Dr Angeliki G Simosi, and is expected to run until 2025.
As the research teams dive deep to uncover the mystery that is the Antikythera shipwreck, the use of new technologies is proving to be of great help in the process of removing tonnes of rock from the sea floor surrounding the shipwreck.
The skill and precision required to unearth these rocks is aided by the advanced technology of underwater balloons, designed by the Swiss watchmaker Hublot, which are filled with air by a compressor sitting on a ship above and help lift the rocks so that they can be moved.
Professor of Archeology at the University of Geneva and one of the lead researchers on the project, Lorenz Baumer told the ABC that they are really trying to understand the site and find out what would have caused the ship to sink.
“The approach is really an archaeological one. We want to understand the site, we want to understand the history, and to learn about how this disaster happened,” said Baumer.
As the research team searches for clues at the bottom of the sea, the task is proving to be somewhat of a mammoth task, with the smallest hope of locating more fragments of the mechanism.
Source: ABC
