More than two centuries after the frigate Mentor sank in rough seas in the Aegean, taking with it artefacts salvaged from the Parthenon bythe 7th Lord Elgin, divers have begun to retrieve the vessel's last secrets from the deep.

Marine archaeologists diving on the wreck near the Greek island of Kythera have brought up a treasure trove of coins, statues and jewellery.

Greek experts hope the finds could be followed by the recovery of lost pieces of the Elgin marbles.

In the aftermath of the 1802 disaster Elgin, then the British ambassador to the Ottoman empire, hired the men who made a living from diving forsponge to recover much of the cargo of ancient marble sculptures.

In a missive to London at the time of the loss, Elgin played down the significance of the shipment. "She had on board some quantities of boxeswith stones of no value, but of great consequence for me to secure," he wrote.

He sold the marbles to the British government in 1816 when he found himself in financial straits. To this day Britain and Greece both claimownership of the 2,500-year-old treasures.

The coins, fine jewellery and Egyptian statues found at the ship's last resting place have encouraged the archaeologists, and funds are in placefor a larger dig next year.

"We always hope to find some fragments or pieces of the marbles that were broken and left on the sea bed," said Dimitris Kourkoumelis, anarchaeologist at the Greek culture ministry, who is heading the mission.

David Sundman adds:

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Sunken treasures found where Elgin lost hismarbles (www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sunken-treasures-found-where-elgin-lost-his-marbles-fl3fj8wbq)