History of Diving

Long before wetsuits, tanks, or regulators, humans were already exploring the underwater world — armed with nothing more than a deep breath and sheer determination. Archaeological evidence suggests free-diving for food and resources dates back over 6,000 years, making it one of humanity's oldest aquatic pursuits.

Ancient Greek and Roman civilisations built entire industries around breath-hold diving. Sponge collectors, pearl hunters, and shellfish gatherers would descend to surprising depths day after day, developing extraordinary lung capacity and technique passed down through generations. Greek historian Thucydides documented military divers cutting anchor ropes during naval battles as early as 415 BCE — proving that underwater capability was already being weaponised.

"Sponge divers in ancient Greece could hold their breath for over four minutes and descend beyond 30 metres."

In East Asia, the tradition of the Ama divers — predominantly women — stretches back at least two thousand years along the coasts of Japan and Korea. These divers could reach depths of 20–30 metres on a single breath, harvesting abalone, seaweed, and pearls. Their techniques were so refined that many still practice today, a living link to our earliest underwater heritage.

The Renaissance sparked a wave of mechanical invention, and the sea was no exception. Thinkers across Europe began designing rudimentary devices to extend the amount of time a person could spend submerged — shifting the challenge from pure physical endurance to one of engineering.

The diving bell — essentially an open-bottomed container lowered into the water — trapped a pocket of air that allowed occupants to breathe at depth. Early versions appeared in the 16th century, with Guglielmo de Lorena constructing one of the first recorded models in 1535 to explore a sunken Roman galley in Lake Nemi, Italy. The concept was crude but revolutionary: for the first time, a human could work underwater for an extended period without surfacing.

"Edmond Halley's 1691 diving bell let a crew stay submerged for over an hour — powered by barrels of air lowered from above."

Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks from the same era reveal early concepts for membrane-based breathing devices and webbed gloves for underwater movement — ideas far ahead of their time. While there's no evidence he built or tested them, these concepts planted seeds that engineers would return to centuries later.

By the late 1600s, the English astronomer Edmond Halley (of Halley's Comet fame) had designed an improved diving bell that could be refreshed with barrels of air lowered from the surface. In 1691, Halley himself descended to 18 metres in the Thames and remained submerged for over an hour — an extraordinary feat that proved extended underwater work was achievable.