Greek and American archaeologists have returned to the ancient shipwreck of Antikythyra in order to discover new treasures that have been inaccessible up until now.
The shipwreck, off the island of Antikythera, was accidentally discovered by Greek divers in 1900. It is a Roman vessel that is believed to have sunk during the first century B.C. and contained the renowned Antikythera Mechanism, a mechanical device used to predict celestial movement, as well as other goods like pottery and bronze statues.
Since the original discovery, the Antikythera wreck was explored by Jacques Cousteau and years later a team of divers from Woods Hole and a Greek government agency, the Hellenic Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, began a more systematic exploration of the underwater area.
However, this is the first time in world history that archaeologists use an advanced diving suit, Exosuit, which will enable them to perform a more intense research.
Exosuit is an Iron Man style suit, an aluminum-alloy suit which allows divers to reach depths of 1,000 feet and stay underwater for more than five hours.
The exploration began last week and is expected to be concluded by October 15 .
The archaeologists aim to recover more treasures that have been inaccessible up until now.
According to TA NEA newspaper, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras expects significant findings to be discovered and, therefore, he is planning to visit the site and meet the Greek and foreign researchers.
