Sunken Treasures: Underwater Archaeology Jessica Mara B. Mercado | Michael Ray G. Acido

What is Underwater Archaeology? ● It is generally concerned with the archaeology of sites located underwater, regardless of their connection to the sea. ● Maritime vs. Nautical vs. Underwater source:

About the site ● discovered by Franck Goddio ● ancient classic texts o Herodotus → where Herakles first set foot on Egypt o Helen of Troy ● 8th Cent. BC → mouth of the Nile River ● Today → 6.5km off the Egyptian coast

● lost for 1,200 years; was discovered in 2000 ● identified the site through a giant stone tablet that pinpointed the lost city’s location ● international trading port in Egypt ● place of religious importance

● status diminished when Alexandria was founded in around 311 BC o conveniently located to capitalise on trade with the West ● Thonis-Heracleion

Findings and Discoveries ● religion o sacred artifacts o ritual barge / ceremonial vessel o numerous temples (including the Main Temple of Amun-Gereb; supreme God of the Egyptians) o city where new pharaohs went to receive the divine right to rule and to legitimize their kingship

● economic trade o 64 shipwrecks anchors o huge amount of gold coins and bronze o lead and stone weights used to measure value of goods o stele (stone slabs with inscriptions)  similar one was found in Naukratis 100 years earlier

● statues o Pharaoh o Pharaoh’s Queen o Hapy → God of the Nile flood

Colossus of a Ptolemaic queen made out of red granite. The whole statue measures 490 cm in height and weighs 4 tons. It was found close to the big temple of sunken Heracleion. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Head of a colossal statue of red granite (5.4 m) representing the god Hapi, which decorated the temple of Heracleion. The god of the flooding of the Nile, symbol of abundance and fertility, has never before been discovered at such a large scale, which points to his importance for the Canopic region. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Franck Goddio and his team with a colossal statue of red granite (5.4 m) representing the god Hapi, which decorated the temple of Heracleion. The god of the flooding of the Nile, symbol of abundance and fertility, has never before been discovered at such a large scale, which points to his importance for the Canopic region. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

An archaeologist measures the feet of a colossal red granite statue at the site of Heracleion discovered in Aboukir Bay. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Bronze oil lamp (late Hellenistic period, about 2nd century BC) discovered in the temple of Amun. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Franck Goddio with the intact and inscribed Heracleion stele (1.90 m). It was commissioned by Nectanebo I ( BC) and is almost identical to the Naukratis Stele in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The place where it was to be situated is clearly named: Thonis-Heracleion. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

A gold vessel (Phiale) recovered from Thonis-Heracleion. Phiale were shallow dishes used throughout the Hellenistic world for drinking and pouring libations. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Bronze statuette of pharaoh of the 26th dynasty, found at the temple of Amon area at Heracleion. The sovereign wears the “blue crown” (probably the crown of the accession). His dress is extremely simple and classical: the bare-chested king wears the traditional shendjyt kilt or loincloth. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Franck Goddio and divers of his team are inspecting the statue of a pharaoh. The colossal statue is of red granite and measures over 5 metres. It was found close to the big temple of sunken Heracleion. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Head of a pharaoh statue is raised to the surface. The colossal statue is of red granite and measures over 5 metres. It was found close to the big temple of sunken Heracleion. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Bronze statue of Osiris, the assassinated and resurrected king-god. It is adorned with the atef crown. The typical insignia of power (crook and flail) are missing. Its open eyes are accentuated by fine gold sheets. ©Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Why Heracleion disappeared? Submerged under 150 feet of water, the site sits in what is now the Bay of Aboukir. In the 8th Century BC, when the city is thought to have been built, it would have sat at the mouth of the River Nile delta as it opened up into the Mediterranean. Scientists still have little idea what caused the city to slip into the water nearly 1,000 years later.

Why Heracleion disappeared? It is thought that gradual sea level rise combined with a sudden collapse of the unstable sediment the city was built on caused the area to drop by around 12 feet. Over time the city faded from memory and its existence, along with other lost settlements along the coast, was only known from a few ancient texts.

Sources ● Maritime Archaeo Definition ● Titanic Shipwreck Images titanic-670.jpg ● San Diego Shipwreck Images ● 3D Reconstruction of Heracleion ● Information and Images

● Information and Images solves-enigma-that-puzzled-egyptologists-for-years/ Heracleion-gives-up-its-secrets.html ● Documentary

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