Divers find marble treasure possibly taken from Greek Parthenon at shipwreck site in Aegean Sea

Archaeologists have discovered a marble treasure among a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Kythira, which could be linked to an infamous Parthenon robbery, Greek officials said.

Teams discovered the marble slab while excavating the site of the Mentor, a brig owned by Thomas Bruce, the British soldier and diplomat known as Lord Elgin, according to Greece’s Culture Ministry and News themezone partner BBC News.

Elgin had used the ship to transport artifacts from Greece to Britain, including relics taken from the Parthenon and other monuments on the Greek Acropolis, the ministry said.

Their shipments from the ancient citadel have become the focus of controversy in recent years, as Greece attempted to recover some of the “Elgin marbles” (stone sculptures dating back more than 2,000 years, mostly from the Parthenon) that Elgin took from the Acropolis to Britain in the early 19th century. They have since ended up in various museums, BBC News reported. Although Elgin insisted he had permission to remove the sculptures of the rulers of the Ottoman Empire, who controlled Athens when he took them, Greek officials accused him of looting, according to the outlet.

The Mentor sank in September 1802, falling to the bottom of the Aegean Sea at a location off the fishing port of Avlemonas, southeast of Kythira, according to the Ministry of Culture.

The ministry described the marble fragment recently unearthed from the shipwreck as decorative and noted that it includes a sculptural element that resembles a drop of water, similar to the architectural style for which the Parthenon is known. Additional conservation efforts at the wreck site and further research into the fragment itself will help identify where the marble originally came from, the ministry said. The fragment measures only 3.6 and 1.85 inches at its longest and widest points.

Most of the cargo on board the Mentor has already been lifted, the ministry said. Discoveries made during previous excavations at the wreck site include fragments of utensils, fragments of the external copper plating that was once attached to the ship’s hull and a clay slab that officials say likely helped with some type of insulation.