Historical underwater find: Scuba divers recover bell from famous Andrea Doria wreck - Slideshow

A scuba diving expedition this past weekend resulted in the recovery of a highly significant maritime artifact, the "crows nest bell" from the sunken wreck, the Andrea Doria. The wreck, a the luxury Italian ocean liner wass sunk in 1953 off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Earnest Rookey, of Jackson, and Carl Bayer, of Hillsborough, were part of an expedition team diving the wreck when they made the find 240 feet below the ocean's surface. Both men were diving the Andrea Doria for the first time as last minute fill-ins after two other crew members dropped out.

“This is an incredibly significant find,” said expedition group leader, Joel Silverstein, of Tech Diving Limited in Arizona. “Think of it like finding a needle in a haystack.”

The bell, which weighs about 75lbs and stands two feet tall, is one of the few artifacts which has the ship’s name engraved on it. Wreck divers consider recovery of a ship's bell to be a significant prize and in the wreck diving community, bells are seen as trophies and signs of accomplishment.

The last major discovery on the Andrea Doria wreck was made when the stern bell was discovered by a group led by Gary Gentile in 1985, according to Silverstein.

The Andrea Doria, which was once considered Italy's flagship, has attracted thousands of divers since 1953, but most only go down once or twice "just to say that they went there,” said Silverstein. Many consider it the Mount Everest of SCUBA diving because of the remote location and challenging conditions, Silverstein said.

Even among divers in the “core group” who have made multiple trips to the wreck, most only return with a few pieces of china, glassware, or portholes, said Silverstein, who has made 56 dives on the Andrea Doria wreck since 1992.

“These were well-skilled divers who were in the right place at the right time,” Silverstein said of Rookey and Bayer's find. “The Andrea Doria is one of the toughest, hardest dives you can do. Getting to it alone is challenging.”

It takes 12 to 14 hours to reach the Andrea Doria's location 55 miles off the coast of Nantucket.

“Whenever you’re that far out in the ocean, you’re facing a lot of unknowns,” said Silverstein. Weather is unpredictable and fierce currents can make it difficult for even an experienced diver to reach the ship.

The bell found by Rookey and Bayers is thought to be the “crows nest bell” because of the location of its discovery. The two men found the bell when they spotted a small part of it sticking out of the sand.

“This is an important find for the whole team,” said Silverstein, “It wouldn’t have been possible if we were not all in it together in the right place at the right time.”

- Grace Chung from the Star-Ledger contributed to this report.