Antikythera dive sure to pay off

In the ongoing saga of the new dive down to the Antikythera wreck, I am here to report that things look positive in the murky water. The Archaeology News Network reports that the divers and researchers are almost certain that they will make new discoveries.

The Antikythera wreck is a shipwreck from the 2nd quarter of the 1st century BC. It was discovered by sponge divers off Point Glyphadia on the Hellenic island of Antikythera in 1900. The wreck manifested numerous statues, coins and other artefacts dating back to the 4th century BC, as well as the severely corroded remnants of a device that is called the world's oldest known analog computer, the Antikythera mechanism.

I first blogged about the new Antikythera wreck dive when I posted about the brand new exosuit that was going to be used. The cutting-edge diving suit will be worn by U.S. divers who will be able to remain deep underwater for extended periods of time, enabling them to conduct excavations and handle the fragile ancient objects with due care. The 1.5-million-dollar Exosuit was made by the Canadian robotics firm Nuytco Research and comes equipped with a number of features that will allow divers to work at the 120-metre depths for an essentially unlimited period of time, without being at risk from decompression sickness.

As for the goals of the dive: Angeliki Simosi, head of Greece's directorate of underwater antiquities is positive after exploratory dives in the area in 2012 and 2013. She is sure there are dozens of artefacts left in the original wreck, and the archaeologists also hope to confirm the presence of a second ship, some 250 metres away from the original discovery site. All in all, there is a lot left to discover, and the Exosuit will help the archaeologists do that.