The stolen ancient artifacts by Elgin: Impressive finds in the sinking of the MENTOR
The results of the underwater archaeological investigations of the historic shipwreck of MENTOR of Lord Elgin, sunk because of bad weather in the bay of Agios Nikolaos were very important for another year.
The incident occurred during the transportation of some of the artifacts removed by Elgin's group from the Parthenon, the Acropolis, and other ancient monuments of Athens in 1802.
During this year's underwater excavation, the investigation and excavation of the section on the western part of the preserved hull, which had already begun in 2019, continued.
Much wood was found in the section, both from the hull of the ship and parts of the prefectures. These sections were scattered and without specific arrangement, testifying to the general destruction that took place at the site of the shipwreck during the sinking as well as during the subsequent wreck processes.
The look of the shipwreck was particularly intense as parts of the prefectures were found trapped under rocks, indicating the intensity of the waves caused in this area, mainly by southerly winds that affect the seabed at great depth.
At the site of the section, as in the previous excavation period in 2019, a significant number of wooden and metal objects were found, mainly related to the two masts of the ship.
In general, the research results confirm that the excavated area corresponds to the location of one of the ship's two masts (MENTOR was a two-masted boat) and probably the stern, as some of the wooden components are associated with the ship's trapezoidal antenna.
Also during this year's research, two segments of the ship were lifted and photographed in three dimensions.
Of particular interest were the other mobile finds that were lifted. For the first time, leather shoe parts, shoe and belt buckles, and other small items were identified, such as a small coin/token used mainly in card games.
From the testimonies of both the crew and the passengers, it is known that they lost all their personal belongings, including their clothes, in the accident.
This testimony is confirmed by this year's excavation results. In addition, various other small items were also recovered, such as two chess pieces (in previous years, another six chess pieces from the same set were probably found), coins, and fragments of cooking and other utensils.
A total of 18 people from different disciplines and scientific specializations were involved in the 2020 underwater survey, such as archaeologists, marine biologists, diving instructors, surveyors/engineers, antiquarians, seabed technicians.