Underwater archaeological research at the Mentor shipwreck off Kythira

On September 5/17, 1802, according to the Gregorian calendar, the brig MENTOR, chartered by Lord Elgin to transport some of the antiquities that had been removed from monuments in Athens and the Acropolis, sank off the port of Avlaimon, in the Bay of Agios Nikolaos in southwestern Kythira (Figs. 1, 2)2.

According to the official bill of lading, the ship was carrying seventeen crates of antiquities as well as the passengers’ personal belongings. The ship’s final destination was England. There were at least 12 people on board the ship, including 6 crew members (Captain William H. Eglen, John Macpharlan (or Macfarlan), the accountant or purser, Manolis Konstantinos Malis, the navigator, and three sailors—John Wigton, Ross (of whom only the last name has survived), and a third whose first name has not been preserved and who is reported to have been from Gibraltar), as well as 6 passengers who had been hired to escort the cargo, specifically William Richard Hamilton, Lord Elgin’s secretary, Captain William Leake, a surveyor and archaeologist; Lieutenant John Squire, an artillery officer; and finally three individuals listed as the passengers’ servants (various letters written after the shipwreck mention the names Giacomo (?) and Peter Gavallo, and these are likely two of the three
(these individuals).

The ship, returning from Cape Tainaro to Kythira, due to bad weather and low draft, struck rocks with the starboard side of its bow just outside the port of Avlaimon and sank immediately to a depth of approximately 22 meters. All those on board the ship (passengers and crew) were rescued by making their way onto the coastal rocks and were cared for by the residents of Avlaimon and by the crew of the Greek ship flying the Austrian flag «Anikitos,» which was also anchored in the area. The shipwrecked also received substantial assistance from the United Kingdom’s Vice Consul in Kythira, Em. Kaloutsis, who is investigating the incident and arranging for the issuance of new passports and certificates for the shipwrecked crew members.

Read the full paper—a study by archaeologists D. Kourkoumelis and A. Tourta, which was published at the 11th International Panionian Congress (May 21–25, 2018).

2020, Proceedings. Volume V: Archaeology. 11th International Pan-Ionian Conference. Life and Culture in the Ionian Islands, Kefalonia, May 21–25, 2018