Students and Educators from the Hunterdon Central Regional High School have been sending in questions about Careers in Exploration while we are here in Egypt excavating Sunken Pharoanic Cities with the team of Underwater Archaeologist Franck Goddio.

We've broken the questions up into 4 subjects, including Diving General, Sunken Egypt Archaeology Project, Archaeology General, and Personal questions for me as someone who has had a career in exploration for many years.

Today we'll start with  Diving General. Here are the questions submitted so far;


What made you want to dive for a career?
How long have you been diving for?
When did you know that you wanted to be on a boat for your career?
What was your favorite dive?
What is the coolest thing you've seen or found yourself when diving?
Do you have any desire to start up Discoverer Scientific Charters again? Or your own independent company?
What bodies of water have you explored? Does it make a difference when you're diving?
How many dives have you been on?
What other diving do you do (apart from archaeology)?

Ill answer them one at a time in the comments below. Thanks for the great questions!

'Franck Goddio and his team haven't slowed down. Want proof? Check out this dramatic, exciting 18 minute documentary by Roland Savoye, titled L'Alexandrie engloutie: une adventure humaine" ( don't worry, youtube has cc subtitles!)

As we warm up for our upcoming fall archaeological mission, its great to see this reminder of what we achieved last year, but most of all remember "the human adventure" that we all experience being part of this team.

What struck me was the contrast between the old-timers ( like Jean Claude and Greg), and the fresh faces of the new team members. There is so much excitement in store for them, under the waves!

I'm looking forward to re-joining the team in just a few weeks for the fall mission excavating Sunken Egyptian Cities.

Damien Robinson hosts this Podcast from the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology covering one of the more intriguing shipwrecks found by Franck Goddio's team and the IEASM

A small Roman boat was discovered in the port of Alexandria. Why was it transporting a large iron anchor at the moment it sank? Professor Damian Robinson presents this fascinating and rare find.
J3, a small boat around 6 meters long, was discovered by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) in the eastern harbour of Alexandria, the ancient Portus Magnus. The boat, dating to the 1st-2nd century AD, was discovered towards the northeastern end of the now sunken Antirhodos Island in its sheltered inner harbour, well preserved in the sediments.

The excavation allowed a team from the IEASM to study the wreck in detail, to reveal the details of the construction and to interpret the function of the boat and its potential region of origin. J3 was transporting a large iron anchor at the moment it sank. This occupied almost the entire preserved length of the ship and was carefully positioned with its crown on the decked aft area and the shank under the removable thwarts.
This lecture was recorded as part of the 2021 online seminar series "Alexandria and the Sea" held by the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology.

Video Audio Embed
Fascinating images that offer a glimpse into ancient Egypt: Photographer Christoph Gerigk talks about his work in the sunken ancient cities off the coast of Egypt and the challenges and developments in underwater photography.
Fascinating images that offer a glimpse into ancient Egypt: Photographer Christoph Gerigk talks about his work in the sunken ancient cities off the coast of Egypt and the challenges and developments in underwater photography.
Since the early 1990s Franck Goddio and the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM), in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Hilti Foundation, have explored the submerged remains of the ancient sunken cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus off the coast of Egypt and the Portus Magnus of Alexandria and its sunken royal quarter.
Photographer Christoph Gerigk has been collaborating with the IEASM for more than 25 years. In this episode, he talks about his work in the sunken ancient cities and the challenges and developments in underwater photography. Christoph has been honored twice at the World Press Photo Contest.
For more information about the work of the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM):
https://www.ieasm.org/
https://www.franckgoddio.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@Franck_Goddio
For more information about the OCMA: https://ocma.web.ox.ac.uk/
For more information about the Hilti Foundation: https://www.hiltifoundation.org/

Flint Dibble is an archaeologist at Cardiff University, and he wrote a very good article about how, and WHY, to take on conspiracy theorist in the archaeology/history space.

"In a world filled with people sceptical of science, we need to see these opportunities, not as debates but spectacles. We need to speak up strategically and share our expertise in our post-truth world."

Ironically, the image used in the article was of an AI generated sunken civilization, not unlike the fantasy images often used alongside images of the real work of Underwater Archaeologist Franck Goddio.

Thank you Professor, for inspiring me to struggle more against online disinformation of all types.

Oil lamps played important roles at Christian pilgrimage shrines all over the Byzantine world.

This gold finger ring appears to be fully functional, and might have been owned by a christian Pilgrim visiting a sacred site in Egypt during the Byzantine era, when many ancient sacred sites had been converted under Christianity.  You can find out about this and other finds by Underwater Archaeologists on the team of Franck Goddio by visiting https://www.franckgoddio.org/finds/

Egyptian Pharaohs:Immersive Exhibitions in France


Some of the amazing underwater pictures taken during excavations off the coast of Egypt by award winning photographer and IEASM team member Christoph Gerigk are currently presented in the exhibition "Egyptian Pharaohs" at the Atelier des Lumières in Paris. They form part of a fascinating immersive exhibition experience that allows visitors to dive into the history of the pharaohs and Egypt's ancient civilization. "Egyptian Pharaohs" will also be on display at the Carrières des Lumières in Les Baux de Provence from 19 April 2024.

The BBC World Service programme Witness History has published a new video featuring the podcast episode with Franck Goddio. In "Discovering the ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion" Franck explains to host Josephine McDermott how he and the IEASM team managed to discover this ancient port city in today's Aboukir Bay and what incredible artefacts they have recovered from the seabed from the Sunken Egyptian City.

A team of underwater archaeologists has made new discoveries at a sunken temple in the ancient port city Thonis-Heracleion, which is now located off Egypt’s coast, the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) announced on Tuesday, Writes ARTNews

The city, which was initially found underwater by the IEASM in 2000, was once Egypt’s largest port along the Mediterranean Sea. That port was active for centuries before the founding of Alexandria in 331 BCE. Its remains are now under the ocean roughly 4.3 miles from the current coastline.

Artifacts at a Greek sanctuary to Aphrodite among the ruins of the ancient city Thonis-Heracleion. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation. Photo Christoph Gerigk

Led by French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio, the team found huge blocks of stone from a collapsed ancient temple dedicated to the god Amun. Pharaohs went to the temple to be bestowed with their power as king.
Additionally, the team found precious objects, among them silver ritual instruments, gold jewelry, and alabaster containers for perfumes and ointments. These objects are thought to have once belonged to the temple treasury.
Excavations conducted by Goddio’s team and the underwater archaeology department of Egypt’s ministry and tourism department yielded underground structures supported dating back to the 5th century BCE. Before these structures sunk, they were supported using wooden posts and beams. The use of new geophysical prospecting technologies, which make it possible to detect buried chambers and objects, aided in the find.
A Greek sanctuary to Aphrodite containing bronze and ceramic objects was unearthed east of the Amun temple. Archaeologists believe that the discovery of Greek weapons in the area indicated the presence of mercenaries who would have been defending access to the Kingdom. It also demonstrates that Greeks were allowed to trade and settle in the city during the Saïte dynasty (664–525 BCE).