This Ancient Shipwreck Is Now an Underwater Museum in Greece

If you want to go to this museum, be sure to grab some scuba gear.

According to Athens newspaper Kathimerini, the famous Peristera shipwreck, located off the coast of the island of Alonissos in Greece, will open to visitors as an underwater museum that divers can actually visit beginning next month. Greece has recently relaxed restrictions on divers visiting archeological sites, Matador Network reported.

Divers will be able to explore the site with a certified guide, Kathimerini reported. The Ministry of Culture also has an on-land information center in Alonissos where visitors can learn all about the shipwreck via virtual reality — just in case you’re not comfortable scuba diving.

For almost 2,000 years, the Peristera shipwreck was lost to history, but in 1985, a fisherman near Alonissos found hundreds of ancient wine jars in the sea that led to the discovery of the shipwreck, according to Time Out. The wreck lays 25 meters (82 feet) below the water’s surface, Time Out reported, and was thought to be a cargo ship of some sort that sank around 500 B.C. Since it was discovered, it was closed to the public, only allowing scientists and researchers to explore its watery depths. Recreational divers will be able to dive up to 28 meters (92 feet) to see the site.

According to Matador Network, the wooden shell of the ship has been worn away by the ocean, but there is still lots to explore, including an up close look at some of the ship’s wine jars, as well as colorful sea life that live around the wreck.

The dive site will only be open between August 2 and October 3 this year, and has plans to reopen again in the summer of 2021, according to Matador Network. Greece has been slowly reopening the country to tourists again. The country started to allow people to visit the Acropolis back in May, and the country officially opened to tourists from some countries beginning June 15.

According to Visit Greece, the country has reopened to all countries, except from those seriously affected by the pandemic, which includes the United States.