The latest underwater excavation effort this summer on the “Mentor” shipwreck, off the southwestern Aegean island of Kythira investigate whether other antiquities besides the Parthenon Marbles were carried by the vessel when it sank.

This year’s excavations lasted from June 26 to July 12, with efforts focusing on the western boundary of the salvaged shipwreck, towards the bow.

Two fragments of Egyptian sculptures were discovered in 2013.
The Mentor sank sank off the Avlemona site on Kythira. Research is funded and assisted the Australian Institute Kytherian Research Group.


The ship, which carried the sculptures of the Parthenon was bound for England via Malta but sank at the entrance of the port of Avlemona, southwest Kythera, in September 1802.

In 2009 various objects were identified including the ballast stones of the ship, several findings, such as fossil fish slate, which has since been presumed to be derived from the load. A portion of the shell of the ship was also cleared, which had already been identified by the survey of 1980, and found preserved in fairly good condition.

According to a relevant site, results of this research are particularly interesting and encouraging, because this ship was intrinsically linked with the Parthenon sculptures hacked off by Lord Elgin’s team in Athens.