The "Antikythera Shipwreck" exhibition of the National Archaeological Museum is being displayed at the Basel Museum of Ancient Art and Ludwig Collection, Switzerland, from September 27 to March 27, 2016.More than 370 exhibits of the shipwreck that are considered to be masterpieces of Greek art and technology are presented for the first time abroad.

The exhibition tells the story of a ship that sank around 70/60 BC during a storm off the Island of Antikythera, near Crete. The ship had been sailing from Greece to Italy with a cargo of magnificent pieces of Greek art destined for the Roman market. A mysterious machine made up of bronze gears was also found at the bottom of the ocean. The so-called Antikythera mechanism is considered to be the world’s oldest computer and one of the most important discoveries in the history of archaeology.

The research on the Antikythera wreck has been a milestone in underwater archaeology. This autumn, researchers from various countries once again set out on an underwater expedition.

More than 50 objects - amongst which an intact amphora, a large anchor release ring, a small lagynos, lead sheets forming the vessel’s leading - were recovered at the site of the Antikythera wreck between August 26 and September 16, the study of which archaeologists hope will expand scientific knowledge about the wreck and its cargo. 

The expedition is led by Dr Angeliki Simosi, head of the Hellenic Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, and the American Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) marine archaeologist Brendan Foley.