The head of a marble statue discovered in the wreck of Antikythera off the coast of Greece

Discovered in 1900, the wreck of Antikythera, in Greece, is still full of treasures.

New excavations of the ship, carried out between May 23 and June 15, 2022 by archaeologists from the Swiss School of Archaeology, led to the discovery of a marble statue head, human teeth and various objects from the boat equipment, according to a June 20 press release from the excavation team.

The boat, believed to have sunk in a storm off the tiny island of Antikythera in the first 50 years of the first century BC, was discovered by sponge-fishing divers in 1901. Among its cargo of giant statues marble and bronze, ceramics and glass objects, archaeologists had discovered a mysterious mechanical device,

called the Antikythera machine.

Used to map the movements of the sun, moon and planets, the machine is described by scientists as the world's first analog computer.

Read alsoResearchers propose a new reconstruction of the Greek Antikythera machine

“

There is no doubt that it is Hercules

”

More than 100 years after the first excavations, archaeologists continue to explore the submerged ship at a depth of 50 meters as part of the “Return to Antikythera” project, which extends until 2025. A vast operation to clear rocks sometimes heavy 8.5 tons allowed access to a never before explored part of the wreck.

It was there that "the base of a marble statue was discovered

magazine

.

“In 1900 [sponge-fishing divers] dug out the statue of Hercules and today we probably found his head,”

Lorenz Baumer, professor of classical archeology at the University of Geneva

, told the

. who directs the excavations.

," he added, describing identifying characteristics of the demigod and hero of Greek (in which he is named Heracles) and Roman mythologies.

he explained.

The press release also reports the discovery of human teeth as well as numerous objects from the ship's equipment such as bronze and iron nails and the lead ring of a wooden anchor.