Antikythera Mechanism Shipwreck Revisited: Human Skeleton Over 2,000 Years Old Discovered at Site

      Parts of a 2,000-plus-year-old skeleton have been recovered from the shipwreck which contained an early analog computer, the Antikythera Mechanism, which we discussed here at Partial Ellipsis of the Sun in 2014.

      Researchers found the skeleton last August during their ongoing excavation of the wreck, which lies on the ocean floor off the Greek island of Antikythera in the Aegean Sea.

      “Against all odds, the bones survived over 2,000 years at the bottom of the sea, and they appear to be in fairly good condition,” Dr. Hannes Schroeder, DNA expert, of the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, said.

     The discovery consists of a partial skull with three teeth, arm and leg bones, and several parts of ribs as reported yesterday in Nature. They are the first bones to be recovered from the wreck, particularly exciting during this era of DNA sequencing.

       The passenger or crew member “was trapped in the ship when it went down and he or she must have been buried very rapidly or the bones would have (been) gone by now.” Some of the bones remain on the seafloor, but others have been brought to the surface for analysis.

      If the research team, which is led by experts from Woods Hole, can recover DNA from the skeleton, they may be able to confirm the individual’s gender and hair and eye color, as well as his or her ethnicity and geographic origin.

      The wreck, which is believed to be of a Greek trading or cargo ship, is the largest ancient shipwreck ever discovered. Since its discovery by sponge divers in 1900, divers have recovered extraordinary artifacts including glassware, gold jewelry,

marble statues and an ancient weapon known as a "dolphin,"

a lead and iron artifact that weighs about 220 pounds. "Dolphins" were defensive weapons that were dropped from the ship’s yard, a spar on the mast, onto the deck of an attacking ship, such as a pirate vessel. 

      The Antikythera Mechanism remains the star of the seafloor find, at least so far.

       These are the best of (DNA) times. . .

Speaking of times, we are close to the 3-year anniversary of Partial Ellipsis of the Sun on October first!

Steph