Wednesday, August 16, 2017

KYTHIRA, GREECE—Underwater excavation of Mentor, a ship that sank off the Greek island of Kythira in 1802, has turned up a range of items, including chess pieces, combs, and a toothbrush, according to a report from Greek Reporter. This is the fifth year in a row that excavations of the wreck have been undertaken by the Greek Ephorate of Old Antiquities. Other findings included pieces of furniture, coins, parts of a pulley, ropes, and metal portions of one of the ship’s masts. The ship was carrying antiquities taken from the Parthenon by British diplomat Lord Elgin, and was headed to Malta and then on to England, but instead sank at the entrance to the port of Avlemona on Kythira. Many if not all the sculptures from the Parthenon were salvaged in the years after the wreck and ultimately sold to the British Museum. Previous excavations have recovered various objects used by the ship’s 10-man crew, including cookware, glass, ceramics, porcelain, bottles, guns, bullets, a small cannon shell, and several compasses. For more on excavations of Mentor, go to “What If They Never Arrived?”