A ‘well preserved’ human body found inside a roman ship which sank during the reign of Julius Ceaser has shocked archaeologists. ‘Antikythera’ is a 40 meter long Roman merchant vessel which sank to the depths of the Mediterranean sea apparently after a violent collision with an ocean cliff in rough sea.
Underwater archaeologist Brendan Foley, co-director of the Antikythera excavation team, said: “We think it was such a violent wrecking event. People got trapped below decks.” The wreck was discovered in 1900 by a group of Greek sponge divers on their way to Tunisia who took shelter from a storm near the island and decided to look for natural sponges while they waited for calmer conditions.
A huge wealth of discoveries were made by under water archaeologists which includes a 7 foot statue of Hercules,7 life sized marble horses and treasures of gold chests and jewelries. Ancient Roman currency was also there with the treassure. Among the finds was also an anachronistic clockwork mechanism.
But the most creepy discovery was a human dead body-well preserved all these years.The recovery of human remains from an ancient underwater wreck is exceptionally rare.Most bodies are consumed by ocean life or washed away by currents long before researchers have the opportunity to obtain them.
But because this person was buried under about a half-meter (1.6 feet) of broken pottery and sand deposits, much of the body remained intact, including two arm bones, two femurs, several ribs, and a partial skull with teeth.Foley added: “We’re thrilled. We don’t know of anything else like it.”
Based on the size of the femurs, the team speculated that the doomed passenger was likely male.The ill-fated passenger was nicknamed “Pamphilos.” The researchers are waiting for the official green light from Greek authorities to attempt DNA extraction, because it was found in Greek waters.
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