"The astrolabe came from a ship that sunk in 1503."<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
As reported by BBC News, marine archaeologists conducted a dive<\/a> in the Indian Ocean in 2014, looking to see what could be culled from a Portuguese explorer ship that took on water during a violent storm and ultimately sank back in the early 14th century. Hidden among the wreckage was an astrolabe, a navigational tool that measures altitude and latitudinal positioning. Historians say they believe the device was used by crew members to get a better understanding of their positioning relative to the sun in order to establish their bearings.<\/p>\n At the time they retrieved the device, however, they were unsure of what it was, but after performing additional research, they believe it was used for navigation purposes.<\/p>\n A rare find<\/strong> "It's a great privilege to find something so rare, something so historically important, something that will be studied by the archaeological community and fills in a gap," Mearns explained. "It was like nothing else we had seen and I immediately knew it was something very important because you could see it had these two emblems on it."<\/p>\n One of the two symbols was immediately identifiable, Mearns added, depicting a Portuguese coat of arms. After further research, the other is likely the personal emblem of the then king of Portugal, Don Manuel I.<\/p>\n Astrolabe measures 2 millimeters thick<\/strong> Commercial divers are often included in shipwreck research projects, finding not only historically significant property but valuable property as well. Indeed, commercial divers with Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2011 found 240 tons of silver<\/a> approximately 300 miles off the southwest coast of Ireland in the S.S. Gairsoppa, The New York Times reported. A British merchant ship that was torpedoed back in 1941 during World War I, the S.S. Gairsoppa was 412 feet long, enabling it to carry as much silver as it did. Historians think it was being transported to England from India.<\/p>\n
David Mearns, a chartered marine scientist, fellow of the Marine Institute of Engineering and one of the world's foremost experts on shipwreck discovery, told the BBC News that he's never seen anything quite like it in his 25-year career.<\/p>\n
BBC News reported the disc, which is only about 2 millimeters thick and 17.5 centimeters in diameter, is made of bronze, a resistant metal that enabled the astrolabe to maintain its shape and engraved etchings.<\/p>\n
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