The second period (May 23–June 15, 2022) of underwater archaeological research at the site of the ancient city of Antipolis in the Gulf of Piraeus was rich in findings. Antikythera shipwreck, as part of the five-year program for 2021-2025. According to an announcement by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the new discoveries include:
• Marble statue base with both lower limbs of a human figure preserved, covered with a thick layer of marine limestone. For this reason, a detailed description is not possible.
• Marble supernatural head of a bearded male figure, which at first glance resembles the demigod Hercules of the Farnese type, known as the «Hercules of Antikythera,» and probably belongs to the headless statue no. 5742 of the National Archaeological Museum, which was salvaged by sponge divers in 1900.
• The big surprise comes from the discovery of two human teeth on a solid aggregate with traces of copper, which, through its genetic material, will help determine the sex and other genetic characteristics of the person to whom they belonged.
• Numerous objects from the ship's rigging, such as bronze and iron nails, as well as the lead stock of a wooden anchor, but also metal masses covered with hard marine patina, which hide their own secrets, which can only be revealed and any symbolic representations identified through X-ray analysis. The antiquities were safely transported from Antikythera to the facilities of the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, properly packaged in accordance with the instructions of the Ephorate's Conservation Department.
According to the same announcement, the mission began with the lifting of massive rocks weighing several tons, which covered part of the wreck. During this phase, special lifting bags were used from the seabed, with the innovative application of an air filling system from the boat, developed by the Hublot Xplorations team. The research, which is under the auspices of the President of the Republic, is being conducted by the Swiss Archaeological School in Greece, under the direction of Dr. Angeliki G. Simosi, head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Euboea, and Lorenz Baumer, professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Geneva, under the supervision of the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities. In addition to the research directors, the expedition included Professor Carlo Beltrame of the University of Venice and Dr. Elisa Costa, a researcher at the same university. Orestis Manousos and Dr. Isaac Ogloblin, Alexander Sotiriou, a collaborating researcher at the University of Geneva, who directed the field operation, and divers Haris Mitrou, Nikos Giannoulakis, and Dimitris Romios. Four experienced members of the Underwater Missions Unit (MY) of the Hellenic Coast Guard also took part: Aris Machairidis, Dimitris Hatzislan, Dimitris Kiosis, and Giorgos Lytrivis.
To conduct the underwater research and excavation, specialized divers carried out dives using mixed gas diving equipment. In addition to divers from the Coast Guard, scientific and technical personnel from the research and development department of Hublot, and the special ship TYPHOON, provided by the Athanasios K. Laskaridis Public Benefit Foundation, also contributed to the diving project. The diving effort was supported by the Typhoon crew, coordinated by Vice Admiral (ret.) Alexandros Palatianos, and by the Hublot Xplorations team, including Mathias Buttet, Michel Blumenthal, Aloïs Aebischer, and Diego Carven. The research was supervised by Aikaterini Tagonidou, diving architect at the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities.
The Faculty of Science of the University of Geneva (Crystallography Laboratory and Department of Earth Sciences) provided laboratory equipment for on-site analyses. The main sponsors of the research are the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation and the Swiss watchmaker Hublot. The research was also supported by the Swiss foundation Nereus Research, which was established with the main purpose of supporting research on Antikythera, as well as Cosmote as the communication sponsor of the research. As the Ministry of Culture and Sports announcement concludes, personal thanks are due to Panos Laskaridis and the mayor of Kythira, Efstratios Charhalakis, for their continued support of archaeological research. The residents of Kythira and Antikythira are staunch supporters of the program.
