Marine Archaeologists Have Recovered 200-Year-Old Treasure from the Wreckage of Lord Elgin’s Sunken Ship

More than 200 years after its devastating wreck, marine
archaeologists have recovered gold jewelry, cookware, and chess
pieces from the remains of the ship that belonged to Lord
Elgin, researchers in Greece announced this week.

In 1802, a large double-masted ship called the Mentor
set sail with treasure looted from Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of
Elgin. It was heading from Greece toward Malta, intending to land
in the UK, but the brig sank after crashing into rocks off the
coast of Avlemonas on the island of Kythera. It took with it the
entirety of the plundered booty, which included some 17 boxes
filled with antiquities—the most famous of which were the Elgin
Marbles, looted from the Parthenon.

Following the wreck, all 12 passengers and crew members were
rescued by a ship called Anikitos, and Lord Elgin
scrambled together a salvage mission for his precious bounty.
Although the Parthenon marbles were recovered and sent on to Malta,
ultimately ending up at the British Museum—much was left on the sea
floor.

A mission in 2011 turned up nothing more from the
Mentor wreckage, but subsequent maritime ventures in
2015 and 2016 successfully recovered three
amphorae handles dating to the third century BCE, small stone
vessels, and later a cache of ancient coins, jewels, statues,
porcelain, and other objects. The most recent mission, carried out
between August 27 and September 15, was led by chief archaeologist
Dimitris Kourkoumelis and a crew from Greece’s Euphorate for
Underwater Antiquities. It involved cleaning the surviving parts of
the ship as well as retrieving the movable objects from the
wreck.

See some of the recovered treasure below:

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Treasure from the Wreckage of Lord Elgin’s Sunken Ship appeared
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