© Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation. Photo Christoph Gerigk
Even Business Insider is getting in on the exciting news of the recent finds of Franck Goddio's Team in Egypt One of the Team with a very interesting find
© Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation. Photo Christoph Gerigk
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They lay hidden on the ocean bed for more than 1,000 years, but now the treasures and secrets of an ancient city off the coastline of Egypt are being uncovered, reads the article from todays Independant The remains of a massive temple and a sanctuary dedicated to the Greek goddess of Aphrodite have been discovered in the underwater port city of Thonis-Heracleion by a team led by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM). The team explored the city’s south canal, where huge blocks of stone from the Amun temple were believed to have crumbled “during a cataclysmic event dated to the mid-2nd Century BC”, according to the IEASM. (Christoph Gerigk ©️ Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, franckgoddio.org) Top: Greek temple remains, Thonis-Heracleion, Egypt. Clockwise from left (above): Byzantine jewelry, Canopus, Egypt, Byzantine gold coin, Canopus, 4th-century B.C. bronze coin, Thonis-Heracleion The search also revealed gold and silver treasure from the sunken temple, including artifacts that were used to bless the pharaohs as they ascended to the throne. It also found the sanctuary to Aphrodite along with ancient Greek weapons.
The discoveries suggest that Greeks were allowed to relocate, live and worship in the ancient Egyptian city, now located in the Bay of Aboukir near Alexandria. Archaeology Magazine covers the recent finds of Franck Goddio's team, emphasizing the connection between the Greek and Egyptian Cultures.
This statue of a Queen of Egypt, emerging from the sea in a wet, transparent tunic clinging to her body, is attributed to Arsinoé II. Can you imagine the desire amongst the divers on Franck's team to find the remaining pieces of this beautiful statue in the submarine desert sands of Canopus? I'm re-watching these videos Franck Goddio made about some of the greatest finds during the ongoing underwater archaeological excavations of Sunken Egyptian Cities. After a millenium under the sea, and a few years on tour of the worlds cultural capitals as part of exhibitions of the finds of the IEASM, the colossal statues of an Egyptian Queen dressed as Isis and her double-crowned Pharaoh King have found a permanent home at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt. The long anticipated Museum opening has not yet occurred, but eager visitors can already see the Royal Couple in their place of prominence. So far from where Franck Goddio's team of divers found them. I am so proud to be part of that team, and remember the discovery like it was yesterday. CNN just covered the opening in a video clip here. I hope you enjoy it. I found this on Reddit r/MapPorn (not exactly a reputable location for research) Its a great visualization of how much sea level has changed in near pre-history, and how people were able to walk from Europe to Stone Henge and back.
But the redditors nicked it, via Nat Geo, from the below authors; Sources: Simon Fitch and Vincent Gaffney, U of Birmingham, UK; North Sea Paleolandscapes Project New Project; Researching all the Sunken Cities of the World, (and calling out the internet fakes)8/4/2023 Seeing as I spent over 20 years diving on the most important sunken cities in history as part of the team of legendary Underwater Archaeologist Franck Goddio, I ought to know what the competition is, right?
But there are a lot of sites with "Submerged Cultural Resources" (as the experts call them) out there, and with new technology and interest, new ones pop up regularly. Not to mention the plethora of malignant videos and articles offering photoshopped and AI produced images of fantastical underwater scenes that never existed. So I'm doing some digging, for my own interest, and will be plopping the interesting bits in here as posts. Step one; A google search of the words "Sunken Cities" results below: Inconceivably, Heracleion did not come in first place! Scandalous! All of you fans of Marion Ravenscroft, Indiana Jane of the Lao Archaeology Scene, might want to check out this podcast interview on Garrett Hayes site "The Plunge"
"Start living a 10% more adventurous life today" is Garrett's tag line. Ima vouch that Marion has had adventure pegged at 100% for a while now, since back when we were plotting a floating archaeology lab on the Mekong River together Each week host Garrett Hayes (who will Kick Your Butt) talks to someone who gave themselves permission to do something extraordinary. Listen to Rescue Archaeology in Laos- Marion Ravenscroft interview here. Underwater Archaeologist Franck Goddio's Discovery of a Sunken Egyptian City that played a major role in Thousand year old Rituals lead by Egypts Last Pharaoh is revealed in this excellent documentary film. Here is a snip: |
My Name is Eric and My Job is Scientific Exploration.
That means I'm lucky enough to join expeditions to excavate sunken cities, climb volcanoes, find missing bombs, and Sail old research vessels, while searching for the mysteries of the natural world. Categories
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