Alex Carson
#1 Greece’s Ancient Computer
This amazing artifact was discovered in 1900. It is called the Antikythera mechanism, and is also considered to be the first analog computer. Its incredibly complex construction and the fact that it has been on the ocean floor for thousands of years makes it an amazing mystery. It is believed that this artifact can predict lunar and solar eclipses according to the Babylonian arithmetic progression cycle. This is just a theory, and the actual function still remains a mystery.
#2 Apollo 11’s Engines
Apollo 11 went into space in 1969 and was one of the most famous launches in space history. After the craft launched, the engines sunk to the bottom of the sea, where they reamined until Jeff Bezos came along. In March 2013, the Amazon CEO decided that it was time to find the engines. He sent of on an expidetion, and he found the engines. He brought them off of the ocean floor in secret. He wanted to wait until it could be proven that what he found actually belonged to the Apollo 11. He found two engines and other parts. After they were tested and restored, they were put on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. It was truly an amazing find.
#3 The Ancient City of Thonis
Most people think that cities being lost to the sea is something that only happens in science fiction and Greek mythology movies. This is not the case. Thanks to melting ice caps and other factors, actual cities have sunken into the sea. In 2000, a team set out in the ocean and they came across the lost city of Thonis. It was known by the Ancient Greeks as Heracleion. It has been under the sea for thousands of years off the coast of Egypt. Parts of the ancient city have been brought to the surface so that they could be studied. We learned a lot about the materials used back then and their wealth and importance. Scientists were not able to pull the entire city of the water, however, finding it and bringing up parts of it is one of the most amazing discoveries in history.
#4 The Doomed Emeralds
In 2010, a man named Jay Mischovish from Key West, Florida bought a treasure map from a friend in a bar. He was an amateur diver and a part time treasure hunter. After getting the map, he went diving deep in the Gulf off Florida. He discovered emeralds that were worth millions of dollars. In all, he pulled 80 pounds of emeralds off the ocean floor. The origin of the emeralds is unknown. After 60 Minutes did a piece on his discovery, it started a federal investigation. Dealing with the investigation and waiting for his payout proved too much for Mischovish, and he took his own life. This is the reason that the emeralds are considered to be doomed.
#5 The Lazarus Fish aka The Coelacanth
Up until 1938, it was believed that this fish went extinct over 65 million years ago. When a marine biologist was going through a local fisherman’s daily catch off the coast of Africa, it was discovered that this fish actually wasn’t extinct. Not long after, a second species as discovered in Indonesia. Most fisherman consider this to be a bad catch and they don’t try to sell it for food. This is the reason why you go to a restaurant and you don’t see Lazarus Fish on the menu. It was, however, a huge discovery since this fish was believed to be gone for millions of years.
#6 Pirate Ships and Gunnery
Pirates aren’t just fictional characters in stories told by sea captains. Pirates actually exist and the most well known pirate is Blackbeard. In 1718, he was forced to sink his ship after it became stranded off the coast of Beaufort in shallow water. In 1966, the Queen Anne’s Revenge went down. The ruins of these ships have been found under the sea. In 2013, the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources were diving and they found cannons that weighed over 2,000 pounds each. So far, over 20 cannons have been found. There are plenty of sunken ships on the ocean floor, and these are just a few examples.
#7 New Species of Sharks
You may think that every species of shark has been discovered, however, marine biologists often find something new. This is the case in the Indian Ocean in 2012. Paul Clerkin, a graduate student at Moss Landing Marine Laboratory in California led a two month fishing expedition and brought up hundreds of species of sharks. They found a new species that doesn’t look like your typical shark. One of the new species had a serrated spine, ,which is like nothing that has ever been seen.
#8 Jurassic Microbes
In 2012, the oldest living organisms on the planet were found. Microbes from the Jurassic era were found deep below the sea. They had been there for over 86 million years and had next to nothing to feed on. Because they barely had enough oxygen to sustain metabolism, they were barely alive when they were found. When it comes to amazing discoveries, the Jurassic microbes definitely earned their spot in as one of the 10 incredible and shocking things found in water depths.
#9 The Lost Silver of the Third Reich
In 1941, Britain’s SS Gairsoppa, a cargo ship carrying close to 240 tons of silver was torpedoed by the Nazis. It sunk about 300 miles off the coast of Ireland. Up until 2012, the ship was thought to be lost forever. The Oddessey Marine Exploration of Tampa found over 61 tons of silver on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and it is estimated to be worth about $36 million. It is believed that this is only 20 percent of the total silver that was on board when the ship sunk to the ocean floor.
#10 The Mythic Kraken
The Kraken has been an undersea legend for centuries. Fishermen believed in its existence based on the bodies that washed up on shore for centuries. Some of the bodies were over 40 feet in length. In 2001, larval specimens were found. Finally, in 2012, actual footage of an adult Kraken was released. The Discovery Channel released a program called Chasing Giants: On thAe Trail of the Giant Squid, where an actual Kraken was photographed. It is one of the most amazing discoveries because it proved that the legend was in fact, true.
