Ancient Military Vessel From The First Century Uncovered In Sunken Egyptian City
Image via Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
An Egyptian-French mission led by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) uncovered the remains of a wrecked warship. It’s located in the sunken city of Thônis-Heracleion, once Egypt’s largest Mediterranean port, and dates back to use in the first century BC before being crushed in rubble in the second century BC.
Dr Mustafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Higher Archaeology Council, explained the ship’s wreckage in Monday’s press release: “The ship was set to dock in the canal which was flowing along the tribal face of Amon Temple, but drowned as a result of the collapse of the temple and huge blocks falling on it during the second century BC.”
In the statement, founding president of IEASM Franck Goddio also acknowledged the rarity of finding intact remains of an ancient fast ship. There is only one other comparable instance of a warship from the era being salvaged in a similar manner: the Marsala Ship, discovered in Western Sicily in 1971.
The flat-bottomed ship spanned 25 meters (82 feet) and had characteristics of Ancient Egyptian construction, Reuters reports. Other than the ship, the new excavation also resulted in the finding of a large Greek cemetery, which is dated to the early fourth century BCE, indicating the presence of Greek merchants in the city.
Image via Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The Egyptian-French archaeological mission of the European Institute of Underwater Archeology (IEASM), working in Alexandria, discovered the wreck of a warship from the Ptolemaic period, and the remains of a Greek funerary area dating back to the beginning of the fourth centuryBC pic.twitter.com/hdT7WJToZL
— Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (@TourismandAntiq) July 19, 2021
[via Smithsonian Magazine, image via Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities]
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