Forget modern scientific equipment, it turns out the best way to find long-lost shipwrecks is by reciting Ancient Greek poetry. A team of experts uncovered a wreck by delving deep into the details of Homer’s The Iliad, a work written in 800 BCE that retells the story of the Trojan war. The team, consisting of experts from Greece's National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, made incredible new findings under the surface, discovering a total of 10 sunken crafts dating from World War II back to 3000 BCE using the poem.
The findings were located around the island of Kasos, with the Iliad being referenced due to its descriptions of Kasos as an important place of trade involved in the battle against Troy. Research into the area has been ongoing since 2019 and marks one of the most intriguing archaeological projects of recent years. The team found crafts dating back to Ancient and Roman Times, as well as a wooden and metal boat that sank around WWII.
Samples taken by the researchers and the Greek Ministry of Culture revealed that goods stored in the ships came from Europe, Africa, and Asia. More information is expected to be released from the project soon, along with the release of a film documenting the process called 'Diving into the History of the Aegean'.
In another recent discovery, the remains of a steamship that vanished off the coast of Australia in 1904 were found almost 120 years later by undersea explorers conducting an underwater survey. This discovery adds to the growing list of intriguing shipwreck findings in recent times.
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