Shipwreck featured in new ‘Indiana Jones’ reveals ancient remains of second vessel

More than 100 years ago, a group of Greek sponge divers stumbled upon a sprawling shipwreck near the island of Antikythera.

Since then, various excavation projects of the massive vessel — which is considered to be the richest shipwreck in Greece — have led to the discovery of numerous artifacts, including the famous Antikythera Mechanism, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Now, ongoing excavations by an international team of archaeologists, divers and scientists have unearthed even more fascinating artifacts at the site of the wreck, according to a July 17 news release from the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece.

Here’s what to know about the Antikythera shipwreck;

The latest discoveries: human remains and another vessel

The latest round of excavations at the site of the wreck took place between May and June, officials said.

Experts said divers used remote-controlled drones to explore the eastern edge of the site. Data was then processed using 3D modeling software that helped visualize and analyze the site.

The team discovered bone remains from at least one victim of the shipwreck, according to officials. Additionally, a number of fragments from marble statues, pottery and glassware were discovered and parts of copper, lead and wood from the ship’s structure were found.

One of the marble fragments discovered appeared to be the beard of a statue of the head of Herakles — the Greek name for Hercules, experts said. The rest of the statue was excavated in 2022.

Evidence of a second shipwreck was also found, the team said. Several fragments of ceramics were unearthed at a higher elevation near the Antikythera site, indicating that another, smaller vessel wrecked nearby several hundred years later during the Byzantine Empire.

An ‘Indiana Jones’ feature

The Antikythera shipwreck was also recently highlighted by the film industry.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the fifth installment in the film series, is based on the wreck and one of its most famous pieces of cargo.

In his latest on-screen adventure, Indiana Jones sets out with his hat and bullwhip to track down the fictional “Archimedes Dial,” also known as the dial of destiny, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The movie centers around Indiana Jones’ search for the dial, which is a fictionalized version of the Antikythera mechanism.

The Antikythera mechanism is believed to be an ancient computer, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Experts think it was used to plan important events such as the early Olympic games, religious rituals and agriculture.

This story was originally published July 26, 2023 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Shipwreck featured in new ‘Indiana Jones’ reveals ancient remains of second vessel."

Moira Ritter

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Moira Ritter covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University where she studied government, journalism and German. Previously, she reported for CNN Business.