Deep Dives to the Shipwreck Antikythera brought Sunken Treasures Back to Shine –

Truly fascinating to see the beauty of those masterpieces of Greek art brought back to light nearly two thousand years after they sank near the Greek Island Antikythera in the 1st century BC. It’s the most important shipwreck ever found. The Antikenmusem Basel CH is the first ever to show such treasures outside of Greece.

What a great opportunity to dive in – even if you haven’t got your scuba license, you can marvel on what was just “cargo” shipped from the ancient Greek to be marketed to the Romans and their upcoming Society keen to display their international wealth. Astonishing, how even magnificent translucent glass bowls are amongst the luxury goods – that’s from a time way way way before glass became a regular good in Europe! So give it a thought, next time you have look around your apartment, or when you eat your salad from a bowl: There were times, when certain goods and marvels needed to be shipped on sailing boats through storms, to make it on your table.

This treasure, though, was brought to us thanks to brave Sponge Divers who spotted the sunken shipwreck down below 50 meters at Antikythera close to Crete around the year 1900. It took several attempts by scuba divers, including pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau in the 1970s, and up to today’s marine research, to bring this treasure back to light.

Since I’m all of it: a passionate Sailor, Scuba Diver, Art Historian, and a Lifetyle / Design Expert, this exhibition was a fantastic combo’ to highlight how all these strings work great together from the antique philosophers’ times up to these days of modern Lifestyle.