The HMHS Britannic, the sister ship to the much more notorious RMS Titanic, suffered notoriety of its own when it sank off the coast of Greece in 1916, four years after the Titanic went down. Designed as a luxury liner but designated as a hospital ship during World War I, the Britannic struck a mine and descended into the depths, with 30 of the 1,060 people on board perishing in the Aegean Sea.
Now, nearly 110 years later, divers have recovered artifacts from the wreck. As reported by the Associated Press, the Culture Ministry in Greece said a team of 11 divers during a week-long mission in May brought back the Britannic’s lookout bell, silver-plated trays from the ship’s first-class luxury days, ceramic tiles from a Turkish bath, a porcelain sink, and a pair of binoculars from a passenger. The artifacts are currently undergoing conservation work and will be included in the permanent collection a new Museum of Underwater Antiquities being built at the Greek port of Piraeus.
The recovery efforts happened 400 feet down on the ocean floor, with currents and low visibility adding to the difficulty of the mission, according to the AP. The dive team utilized closed-circuit rebreather equipment in an operation organized by Simon Mills, founder of the Britannic Foundation.
The Museum of Underwater Antiquities, where the Britannic findings will go, is currently scheduled to open in 2026, with funding including €93 million (around $109 million) from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Fund.
