Marine archaeologists have retrieve the fond remain of a 2,000 - class - old skeleton while conducting an excavation at the Antikythera wreck , the famous site that yielded the freakishly - modern Antikythera Mechanism . Incredibly , the ancient corpse could still contain traces of deoxyribonucleic acid .
The clay , found just three weeks ago , were break by research worker from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ( WHOI ) . Working at a astuteness of 165 feet ( 50 meters ) , the archaeologist regain the fond human skeleton buried under two feet ( 0.5 meters ) of sand and busted chip of ancient pottery . The dig yielded a human skull ( including a jaw and teeth ) leg , rib , and the prospicient arm bones .
The researchers will now see if they can press out DNA from the 2,000 - year - old remains . Should they succeed , it will be the first time that scientists have pull DNA from such an old underwater sample . The remains are surprisingly well conserve , and experts are encouraged that genetic material still exists within the bones .
The Antikythera wreck is a riveting site , and archeologist are eager to learn more about the ship , its cargo , and ill - fat gang . Prior to go down sometime around 65 B.C. , this telling ship transported luxury item — including the oddly computer - like Antikythera Mechanism — from the eastern Mediterranean to other parts of Europe , likely Rome . The ship was large , consisting of multiple grade , and with many people on board . grounds suggest the ship broke apart after a storm mail it lurch into rocks , causing it to sink quickly .
https://gizmodo.com/the-mysterious-antikythera-mechanism-is-more-ancient-th-1664080893
Preliminary analysis of the skeleton suggests the person was a young man . Should DNA analysis be successful , scientists could learn details such as his hair and eye color , and even his ancestral and geographic origin . Other portion of the systema skeletale are still embedded in the seafloor , and the archaeologists plan a return visit to accumulate the rest .
“ Archaeologists read the human past times through the aim our ancestors created , ” remark Brendan Foley , a nautical archeologist with WHOI , in a statement “ With the Antikythera Shipwreck , we can now link immediately with this person who sailed and died aboard the Antikythera ship . ”
It ’s exceptionally rarefied to discover such ancient forcible remains underwater . The Antikythera wreck was get word in 1900 by sponge divers , and all seeable artifacts were soon collected . Archaeologists suspect that much of the ship ’s load still remains lay to rest under the deposit . Recent excavations at the website have give rise various artifact , including large anchors , and a “ war dolphin”—a teardrop - shape lead weight that was used by the ancient Greeks as a defensive arm to demolish uncongenial ships .
[ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution , Nature News ]
ArchaeologyPaleontologyScienceshipwrecks
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