2500-year-old Greek ship salvaged off Sicily

[Angelo]

2500-year-old Greek ship salvaged off Sicily


ROME, July 28 (Xinhua) -- An ancient Greek trading ship that has lain on the seabed off the coast of Gela in southern Sicily for 2,500 years was brought to the surface for the first time on Monday.

The 21-meter-long vessel is the best-preserved example in the world of a Greek ship constructed from pine planks "sewn" together with plant fiber, a technique described in Homer's Iliad, Italian News Agency ANSA said on Monday.

Experts believe the ship sank in a storm some 800 meters off the coast while transporting goods from the Greek colony in Gela back to Greece.

Two local divers first discovered the wreck five meters under water in 1988, and the bow of the ship, along with amphorae, drinking cups, oil lamps and woven baskets, were brought to the surface in 2003.

On Monday coastguards and experts from the Caltanissetta culture department salvaged the rest of the ship using a boat equipped with a crane able to lift loads of up to 200 tons.

The pieces of the ship will be kept immersed in tanks full of the protective chemical polyethylene glycol before being transported to Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, where experts at the Mary Rose Archaeological Services will conserve and reconstruct the vessel.

The culture department says it eventually plans to build a sea museum in Gela with the ship as the key exhibit.

2500-year-old Greek ship salvaged off Sicily_English_Xinhua

[Napalm]

The CBC covered this story but made no mention of the word Greek

[Hellenika]

As more and more things are found and discovered due to the technology available now and in the future, you're gonna see more and more of this behavior I think. What exactly are they trying to achieve by leaving out the fact it's Greek? They actually want someone to believe that anyone but the Greeks were that advanced in that area 2500 years ago? A Greek ship sailing from one Greek city state to another Greek city state. All that Greek stuff, must be driving everyone nuts. It's getting to the point where if someone knows a Greek person they'll start calling themselves Greeks too. Ahahahaha .

[Napalm]

Great points Hellenika. They are also using modern technology to find more things about Greeks on stuff they already have. For example they can use modern X-Rays to scan ancient scrolls and modern software to "unwind" the paper that could not be read by hand since it would turn to dust if handled. They used similar things to scrolls to show Archimedes had already discovered Calculus before the northern Europeans did on a PBS special.

[gorgona]

"... there's nothing new under the sun - everything can be traced back to Archimedes or even earlier." ~ Stan Ulam

[Prokomenos]

Originally Posted by gorgona

"... there's nothing new under the sun - everything can be traced back to Archimedes or even earlier." ~ Stan Ulam

Well said gorgona.

On a side note I cant wait to see what else is discovered relating to Ancient Greece. So many more things just lay and wait.

[half greek]

This is modern shipping if we compare it to this.

The Aegean has since prehistoric times been a sea that has united rather than separated the large or small islands. Between these islands, there were narrow sea passages and shallow gulfs, accessible by some primitive sailing means. Navigation in the Aegean, has been testified by the tools made of Melian obsidian which were found in Franchthi Cave in Hermionid (at the eastern coast of the Peloponnese, a distance of 80 nautical miles (approximately 150 kilometers) from Melos! Tools made of Melian obsidian also found on Crete (Knossos) and on Cyprus, substantiate the existence of sea routes in the Aegean from the Early till the Final Neolithic (6800-3200 BC).
Greek Ships

The islandsʼ history is long and tumultuous. Shipping and trade activities originate in Milos since the Mesolithic period (around 8000 BC), due to the obsidian, the mineral long coveted for the manufacture of tools and weapons.

[Nikoz78]

The ship and everything in or around it should be returned to Greece.

In this same way, I believe (feel) that all of Greece's treasures must be returned to Greece. This includes every single item housed in museums in other lands. Many of our Holy relics were looted from Constantinople in 1204 (4th Crusade) and are now in other lands like Italy and Germany. Venice alone has literally hundreds of items stolen from us (something the Pope apologized for in 2004 -800 years later.)

I hope that, in regards to buried treasures (buried in dirt or sea) discovered in the future, the EU and others can make an agreement to return ancient items to their respected home lands.

England could further this end by returning the stolen 'Elgin Marbles,' something over 80% of English people think they should do.

The ship should be returned to Hellas.

[Ellinas]

Impressive find, I saw shots from the pulling up on TV. An accomplishment for the Italian archaeologists without a doubt.

[Ellinas]

Originally Posted by Nikoz78

I hope that, in regards to buried treasures (buried in dirt or sea) discovered in the future, the EU and others can make an agreement to return ancient items to their respected home lands.

If something like this happens the museums of England are going to become empty as they are full of artifacts illegally detached from countries like Greece, Italy, Iran, Egypt, China, India etc.

It's not in the advantage of the EU to go against one of its "white-headed" members .