been recovered along the Levantine coast. Many other small and common artifacts also were found, and the entire assemblage was taken to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The death of diver Giorgos Kritikos and the paralysis of two others due to decompression sickness put an end to work at the site during the summer of 1901. On 17 May 1902, archaeologist Valerios Stais made the most celebrated find while studying the artefacts at the National Archaeological Museum. He noticed that a severely corroded piece of bronze had a gear wheel embedded in it and legible inscriptions in Greek. The object would come to be known as the Antikythera mechanism. Originally thought to be one of the first forms of a mechanised clock or an astrolabe, it is at times referred to as the world’s oldest known analog computer. The wreck remained untouched until 1953, when French naval officer and explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau briefly visited to relocate the site. Cousteau returned with a full team in the summer and autumn of 1976 at the invitation of the Greek government. Under the direction of archaeologist Dr. Lazaros Kolonas, the team recovered nearly 300 artifacts, including four hull planks, ceramic jars, bronze and silver coins, pieces of bronze and marble sculptures, bronze statuettes, several pieces of gold jewelry, and even human remains of the crew and passengers. A five-year comprehensive survey program which began in 2021 recovered additional artifacts, including the head of a marble statue, possibly the missing head of a statue of which Hercules recovered from the same site in 1902. Dating Although the retrieval of artifacts from the shipwreck was highly successful and accomplished within two years, dating the site proved difficult and took much longer. Based on related works with known provenances, the bronze statues could be dated back to the fourth century BC. It was suggested that the marble statues, however, were Hellenistic-era copies of earlier works. Some scholars speculated that the ship was carrying part of the loot of the Roman General Sulla from Athens in 86 BC, and might have been on its way to Italy. A reference by the Greek writer, Lucian, to one of Sulla's ships sinking in the Antikythera region gave rise to this theory. Supporting an early first-century BC date were domestic utensils and objects from the ship, similar to those known from other first-century BC contexts. The amphorae recovered from