Antikythera wreck
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | Antikythera wreck | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Sea / ocean | Sea of Crete | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Greece | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 40 km from land |
| Position | 35.8897, 23.3078 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
The Antikythera wreck (Greek: ναυάγιο των Αντικυθήρων, romanized: navágio ton Antikythíron) is a Roman-era shipwreck dating from the second quarter of the first century BC.
It was discovered by sponge divers off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island of Antikythera in 1900.
The wreck yielded numerous statues, coins, and other artifacts dating back to the fourth century BC, as well as the severely corroded remnants of a device many regard as the world's oldest known analog computer, the Antikythera mechanism. These ancient artifacts, works of art, and elements of the ship are now on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Diving & visiting
Around Easter 1900, Captain Dimitrios Kondos and his crew of sponge divers from Symi sailed through the Aegean en route to fishing grounds off North Africa. They stopped at the Greek island of Antikythera to wait for favorable winds. During the layover, they began diving off the island's coast wearing the standard diving dress of the time – waterproofed canvas suits and copper helmets.
Diver Elias Stadiatis descended to 45 meters (148 ft) depth, then quickly signaled to be pulled to the surface. He described a heap of rotting corpses and horses strewn among the rocks on the seafloor.
Location
- Recorded position: 35.8897, 23.3078 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Sea of Crete
- Nearest coast: Greece
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Antikythera wreck (revision 1379974650), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Discovery”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- HMS Greyhound 1941 · 18 km
- HMS Gloucester 1941 · 28 km
- Bartolomeo Colleoni 1940 · 43 km
- U-557 1941 · 65 km
- HMS Diamond 1941 · 72 km
- HMS Wryneck 1941 · 72 km
Browse more: Europe wrecks · wrecks off Greece · Sea of Crete