Remnants of an ancient, sunken city were lifted out of the waves off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, last week, officials said, with cranes hoisting parts of statues and tools dating back 2,000 years.
The antiquities were recovered as part of a major archaeological operation that has unfolded over the last year. The excavation uncovered statues of human figures, a sphinx, an ancient dock, coins and Roman-era tools, like parts of a millstone, officials said.
The findings paint a fuller picture of the bustling, ancient city of Canopus, known for being both a religious center and a “party town,” said Damian Robinson, the director of the Oxford Center for Maritime Archaeology.
Last week, people cheered from the shore as the artifacts, long buried under silt and clay, were pulled from the water with officials and politicians looking on, local media reported.
The excavation on Thursday highlighted archaeologists’ recent work in the Bay of Abukir.
This is the first time that the western side of the bay has been explored in detail, said Mr. Robinson, who has taken part in past excavations in the Bay of Abukir, where the items were found.
“Now what we have is a much more complete view of the city,” Mr. Robinson said. “It’s actually much bigger, perhaps, than we previously thought. It is really exciting.”
The artifacts will help archaeologists build a better picture of Canopus and its evolution. During the Roman period, Canopus was a holiday resort known for “all sorts of licentious behavior,” Mr. Robinson said, citing ancient texts.
Egypt’s tourism and antiquities minister, Sherif Fathi, said in a statement that the recovered relics were part of sunken cities that had gradually been swallowed, over the centuries, by earthquakes, land subsidence and rising sea levels. They were thriving social, economic and military centers between the 6th century B.C. and the 4th century A.D., he said.
The eastern part of the Bay of Abukir has been explored in recent decades by Franck Goddio and his European Institute for Underwater Archaeology. The water helps to preserve artifacts from destruction and wear and tear that can happen on land.
Artifacts included parts of buildings, statues and Roman coins. Egyptian officials said the findings may have been part of the ancient city of Canopus.Credit…Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
The new excavation came just months before the official opening on Nov. 1 of the Grand Egyptian Museum, billed as the largest archaeological museum in the world.
The artifacts found in the waters off Alexandria will not be displayed to the public for some time, however. They will be taken to a central site in Alexandria, where they will be immersed in a large tank for about a year as part of a desalination process, Mr. Robinson said.
While many artifacts remain under the water, Mr. Fathi, the tourism and antiquities minister, said that officials were restricted in what they were allowed to recover.
“There’s a lot underwater, but what we’re able to bring up is limited; it’s only specific material according to strict criteria,” he said in reference to the UNESCO convention on underwater cultural heritage. “The rest will remain part of our sunken heritage.”
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