Modern science is helping us better understand the past, with new technologies and techniques complimenting standard archaeological methods in piecing together what actually happened 2000+ years ago. Much like how modern forensics help police with investigations.
DNA testing, 3D reconstruction and isotopic analysis are three different techniques used by the Return to Antikythera Project, which we’ll talk about in more detail shortly.
Artefacts are often fragile, so where possible a 3D model is constructed both in situ underwater and after an object has been recovered from the shipwreck.
Here’s a 3D model of a hand from a marble statue found during the spring fieldwork season.
This is an example of an artefact that is badly eroded, making it difficult to say what the rest of the statue looked like, hence the development of an initiative called 3D Antiquity.
The idea is to 3D-model thousands of ancient sculptures accurately and precisely, then compare them against the eroded and unrecognizable Antikythera marble statues, in the hope of identifying them.
We’d like to thank software vendor Autodesk for assisting the project with their ReMake software for 3D reconstructions.
The latest in diving technology also allows the team to work safer and for longer periods of time, which is important in such a difficult location.
Here’s a number of images from over the last week.
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