Exploring the wreck of Lord Elgin's ship

The hull of the ship, which was transporting the Parthenon sculptures to England and which sank southwest of Kythera in 1802, has been revisted by the Board of Supervision of Marine Antiquities.  Dozens of items belonging to the crew and of great historical value were recovered.  

The ship, Mentor, sunk in September 1802 at the entrance of the port of  Avlaimona.  This ship has been an  incentive for  exploration and research because of the  possibility of uncovering other sculptures, lying in the sand, at the bottom of the sea.  The underwater excavation lasted 17 days.    

This year's on board survey focused both on the area of its prow where in  2009 and 2011 items belonging to the crew and passengers of the ship had  been located, and on revealing and clearing of a section of the ship's hull, which appeared to be preserved in a reasonably good condition.  In fact the  hull was uncovered to a length of about 10 metres, towards the bow. It was established that a section of it had smashed on the rocks on the bottom, as the ship sank. Also during the clearing it was established that at various points around  the hull the finds were mainly personal items of the crew and passengers - a collection of uniforms and clothing buttons were found as well as other finds  such as bottles and an hour glass (klepsydra -  water clock).    

During the exploration many interesting items were found such as navigation  equipment, a ship's compass, ink bottles and portable ink wells, a portable  timepiece and a further handgun (the third together with the two others  which were dredged up during the 2011 excavation), a stone seal depicting a  firearm, a gold chain and various decorative objects. Also recovered were two gold coins (one from 1788 has been identified as  Dutch), three silver coins contemporary with the period when the ship was  wrecked, as well as two ancient silver coins (one Boeotian and one Athenian,  the latter of which appears to have been used as an ornament since it is  pierced).     On completion of the on board exploration, the wooden hull of the ship was covered with an agricultural textile material in order to further preserve the wreck.    

The exploration results make an archaeological contribution but also provide historical interest of this particular shipwreck, since certain objects which have been brought up, can be identified with actual people who  were on board the ship and who are probably connected with the enterprise of  the removal of the carvings of the Parthenon.   Particular interest results from the preservation of a  significant section of the ship's hull, the study of which can contribute to  the better understanding of the construction of merchant vessels of that particular period.    

The exploration was conducted by a team from the Supervisory Board of Marine  Archaeology under the professional supervision of the underwater archaeologist Dr D. Kourkoumelis and the underwater staff Louis Jean  Mersenie master technician; Manolis Tzephronis diver; Themistoklis  Troupakis technician-mechanical technician, and Petros Tsambourakis, manual  technician, as well as the assistance of the Australian foundation "The Kytherian  Research Group".  The exploration was conducted with the financial support of the Stavros Niarchos  Foundation.

 http://www.tanea.gr/politismos/article/?aid=4738025

http://www.youtube.com

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation fulfills its commitment to make Breal's Silver Cup, presented to Spyros Louis, accessible to the general public visiting the Acropolis Museum. The Cup will be displayed for one-year period starting September 2012.

ATHENS, Greece, July 18, 2012

Today the Stavros Niarchos Foundation has the pleasure of announcing that, from September 2012 and for a one-year period, the Breal's Silver Cup will be exhibited at the new Acropolis Museum, where thousands of visitors from all over the world, as well as the numerous students that visit the Museum every day, will have the opportunity to see the historic Cup up close, and learn about its history and symbolism. The exhibit will include audio visual and printed informational material on the Cup, to help enhance the visitors' experience and understanding.

On April 18th, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation announced that it had acquired in auction Breal's Silver Cup, which was presented to Spyros Louis during the first Modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. The announcement was accompanied by the Foundation's public commitment to make the Cup accessible to everyone, by placing it on permanent display at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), which is expected to be completed in 2015. In line with its principal intent of making the Cup available to the public, the Foundation immediately embarked upon a process of evaluation and selection of suitable temporary exhibition venues across the country. In particular, the Foundation conducted a series of visits, in order to identify venues that could serve as temporary homes for the Cup. The basic criteria in selecting potential venues were the Cup's safety while on display, and its widest possible and free accessibility to the general public. Throughout the Cup's display at the Acropolis Museum, the Foundation will continue its efforts to locate other suitable venues across the country, which could be considered as temporary homes for the Cup after it leaves the Acropolis Museum and before 2015. After 2015, the Cup will be on permanent display at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, which the Foundation will donate to the Greek State, and will be open and fully accessible free of charge to all its visitors. For more information on the Cup, please visit:

http://www.snf.org

The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) has been made aware of reports in the press and social media that it has plans to take the British Museum to trial over the legality of its title to ownership of the so-called Elgin Marbles in its collection.

These reports have no foundation in fact and do not originate from the BCRPM and the BCRPM dissociates itself entirely from them.  The policy of the BCRPM is that the campaign for the reunification of the sculptures of the Parthenon should emphasise cultural and ethical arguments.  Certainly at this time its policy does not encompass litigation.

http://www.parthenonuk.com/index.php/latest-news1

To watch coverage of the colloquy on ERT, please visit

http://www.ert.gr

(it starts at 34.55  and includes the report and analysis of the subject)

To sue or not to sue? Parthenon Marbles activists debate

By Trevor Timpson BBC News

Activists from around the world seeking the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Athens have met in London to discuss their strategy as Greece faces troubled times.

"The Olympics are a four-yearly reminder to the world of all we owe to Greece," said former MP Eddie O'Hara - who chairs the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

The meeting, he added, "ought to remind people in London and throughout the world that there's one debt to Greece that will never be repaid until those sculptures in the British Museum are returned."

But he said there was a "hiatus" in the campaign because economic woes meant not much action could be expected from the Greek authorities.

21 June 2012

The International Colloquy for the 'Reunificaton of the Parthenon Marbles', held in London Tuesday 19 June 2012 covered many aspects including the concept of the 'universal museum' and legal issues relating to the Parthenon Sculptures. 

Amongst the distinguished speakers George Bizos, Human Rights Advocate and Author; Dr Tom Flynn London-based art historian, critic and journalist; Andrew Dismore Former MP for Hendon; Chair, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. 

Christina Borg paid tribute to the late Christopher Hitchens and a moments silence was observed by all. 

Professor Judith Herrin (Professor Emerita, Constantine Leventis Senior Research Fellow & Fellow of King’s College London) paid tribute to Eleni Cubitt, founder of the BCRPM. She called on all the Committees around the globe to adopt Eleni as their Honoray Patron.

Below the address by Prof. Dimitrios Pandermalis, President, Acropolis Museum

20 June 2012

THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM CELEBRATES ITS THIRD ANNIVERSARY

Twelve hours of music in the Acropolis Museum

On Wednesday 20 June 2012, the Acropolis Museum will celebrate its third anniversary. The exhibition areas and restaurant will remain open from 8 am until midnight.On this occassion, admission will be reduced (3 euro) for all visitors.

From 11 am until 8 pm, visitors will be able to enjoy a great selection of music ensembles and distinguished soloists, performing ancient music of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras as well as seperate works of the 20th century. These musical events have been organised by the Music Ensemble and the Third Programme of Greek Radio.

At 8:30 pm the ERT Choir will present Dodecanese musical works by G. Constantinides and excerpts from compositions by Javier Busto and Lajos Bardos, the conductor will be Dimitris Bouzanis. This will take place on the ground floor lobby of the museum in view of the Hekatompedos pediment.

At 9:30 pm, the ERT Contemporary Music Orchestra and the ERT Choir will perform works of Theodorakis, Hatzidakis, Papadimitriou and Xarchakos, conducted by Andreas Pylarinos. This will take place in the museum's entrance courtyard.

www.theacropolismuseum.gr