Scientists hope to that a new, highly advanced diving suit will finally let them explore a 2,000-year-old shipwreck that lies at the bottom of the Aegean Sea, Live Science reported.
The ancient ship has remained hundreds of feet underwater off the coast of the island of Antikythera, Greece, ever since it sank around 50 B.C. Scientists believe the ship's cargo- a hoard of bronze, gold jewelry and marble statues, is buried under the sand. But an extensive exploration of the site was never possible-that is until scientists invented the world's most advanced diving suit.
Scientists plan on using the 530-pound metal diving suit in the coming months to plunge 400 feet underwater to probe the shipwreck's secrets.
"It's likely that sediment will hold the kind we can't even imagine," Brendan Foley, a maritime archaeologist who is co-directing the mission, told Live Science. "Our eyes light up thinking about it. It's the kind of thing that wakes you up in the middle of the night. These are artifacts that have never been seen since the time of Caesar."
The Exosuit, which is over 6 feet tall, has the potential to dive 1,000 feet and comes with claws that allows the wearer to grab any luxuries from the sand. It can stay underwater for up to 50 hours, which is made possible thanks to a "breathing" cable that stretches from the suit to the surface.
The shipwreck was first discovered in 1900 when sponge divers found gold jewelry, statues and other artifacts off the coast of the Greek island. They also found a computer-like device called the Antikytherea mechanism- which is said to be the world's oldest known computer.
The device would have been used to predict astronomical events including eclipses and full moons, experts told Live Science. More computer-like devices could be buried with the rest of the treasure, experts say.
"If we find what we think we're going find, we're expecting this to turn into a five-year project," Foley told Live Science.
