Heracleion sits 10 meters under the sea in Aby Qir Bay. The ancient Egyptian city submerged underwater about 1,200 years ago for reasons we have yet to discover. Archaeologists have been exploring the lost city for the past decade and the discoveries they have made are mind blowing.
Courtesy of ancientexplorers.com
Also known as Thonis, the lost city used to be a city of great wealth. It was home to the main station where all trade from Greece and other spots of the Mediterranean entered Egypt. Heracleion was a very important port at the time, but now the city’s ruins sit under the sea off the coast of Alexandria.
Courtesy of telegraph.co.uk/news
More then 64 buried ships and 700 anchors have been discovered along with gold coins and stone. Archaeologists have also discovered giant statues that are as tall as 16 feet and hundreds of smaller statues of gods. Large stones inscribed in ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek are some of the ancient items scientists have brought to the surface. One of the greatest discoveries is a huge temple to the god Amun-Gerab, which happened to be one of the supreme gods of the Egyptians.
Courtesy of youtube.com
Surprisingly, the site has incredible preservation and scientist have no idea what caused Heracleion to submerge underwater. It is possible that the sea level rose and combined with unstable sediment it caused the city to collapse around 12 feet.
There is still a lot to learn about the lost city of Heracleion. Scientists will continue to observe and study the area to find out more answers as to why the once golden city now sits under the sea.
