Scientists are using exotic technologies to excavate underwater shipwrecks with the same precision as an archaeological dig
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Two thousand years ago a storm drove a Roman ship against a sheer rock wall on the north side of the remote Greek island of Antikythera. The boat sank, along with tons of treasure: coins, gold jewelry, dozens of large marble and bronze statues, and an extraordinary, bronze clockwork device now counted as the first analog computer.
The wreck lay at the sea bottom, 165 feet down, untouched until 1900, when one day sponge divers came upon it. The divers were equipped with little more than a helmet and a long hose to the surface for air; they struggled just to reach the decayed vessel. One of them died, and two others were paralyzed.
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