A Day Finding the Shipwreck That Stunned the World, 1900
Time Surfing: Graphic History
Time Surfing: Experience History Firsthand.
Historical Backdrop
In the year 1900, Greece was a poor nation, and many men from the small islands of the Dodecanese made a hard living diving for sea sponges. These divers used a dangerous new technology: a heavy canvas suit and a copper helmet fed air by a hand-cranked pump on the boat above. The work killed and crippled hundreds because of “the bends,” a deadly sickness caused by coming up too fast from too deep. That spring, a crew of sponge divers from the island of Symi was sailing home from the sponge beds of North Africa when a violent storm forced them to shelter behind the tiny, lonely island of Antikythera, between Crete and the Greek mainland. They decided to see what was down there.
Our subject is Elias Stadiatis, a sponge diver in his early thirties from Symi. On this single day, Elias will descend into water deep enough to kill him, see something so horrifying he can barely speak.
Just before dawn — Spring 1900 — Aboard a sponge boat anchored off Pinakakia point, Antikythera, Greece
You wake on the bare deck, your back stiff against coiled rope. The boat rocks under a gray sky as the storm finally dies down. Your mouth tastes of salt and last night’s hardtack. Around you, other men cough and stir under thin woolen blankets. The air smells of tar, fish, and wet wood. You sit up, rub your cracked lips, and stare at the barren cliffs of the strange island looming nearby.
Early morning — Spring 1900 — On deck, off Antikythera, Greece
You chew a dry biscuit and a wedge of hard cheese while Captain Kontos points at the calming water. The storm has cost you days. He says the depths here are unknown — maybe rich with sponges. You shade your eyes and look down into the dark blue. It is deep here. Too deep, maybe. But a poor man does not argue with the captain or the sea.
Mid-morning — Spring 1900 — On deck, off Antikythera, Greece
The crew dresses you for the dive. They drag the heavy canvas suit over your body, then bolt the copper helmet onto your shoulders. The lead weights pull at your chest and feet. You can barely move. The air pump’s crank squeals as a boy begins to turn it. Through the small glass window you see the men’s faces, mouths moving, but you hear only your own loud breathing inside the metal.
Late morning — Spring 1900 — Going over the side, off Antikythera, Greece
You climb down the rope ladder at the boat’s side. The cold sea swallows your boots, your chest, your helmet. Bubbles roar past the glass. You grip the lifeline and signal with one tug. Then you let go and sink, down and down, into the green-blue gloom. The light fades. The pressure squeezes your ears. The world above becomes a small shimmering circle far overhead.
Midday — Spring 1900 — On the seabed, ~45 meters deep, off Antikythera, Greece
