The Greek Ministry of Culture announced marine archaeologists have discovered more treasures in the historic wreck of the “Mentor,” which belonged to Lord Elgin and sank off Kythera Island in 1802.
The wreck of the Mentor contains antiquities Lord Elgin’s team stole from the Parthenon and other Athens monuments.
The ship crashed onto the rocks of Cape Avelemonas and sank on September 15, 1802.
"Today, the image of the shipwreck is particularly intense," the Ministry of Culture posted on Instagram.
Findings included footwear, belt buckles, coins and other small items from the passengers.
It is known from the testimonies of both the crew and the occupants that during the accident, they lost all their personal belongings, including their clothes. This testimony is confirmed by the underwater findings.
In addition to the above, various other small items were also removed, such as two chess pieces (in previous years another six chess pieces were found, most likely from the same set) and fragments of cooking utensils.
The underwater excavations which took place between September 4-21, included a 18-member team directed by archaeologist Dimitris Kourkoumelis of the Underwater Antiquities Department.
