The history of Egypt is full of secrets and mysteries, and not all of them are associated with the pyramids. Did you know that on the territory of this hot country there is a flooded city called Heraklion, which archaeologists have been studying for almost 20 years? Since the city is hidden under water, it is extremely difficult for scientists to explore it, but so far they have found more than 14,000 objects made of stone, wood and gold. Recently, archaeologists have learned even more information about the flooded city, having found the remains of a huge temple and a missing fragment of one of the ships. Of course, this time it was also not without treasures.
Heraklion was discovered in 2000 by archaeologist Frank Gaudio. It is believed that the name of the city is associated with the fact that the legendary Hercules, the son of the ancient Greek gods Zeus and Alcmene, once visited it. At the moment, the city is located at the bottom of the Abu Kir Bay, located near the Egyptian Nile River. Parts of the huge city are located at different depths up to about 45 meters, however, some buildings may be located deeper, because at the moment the mysterious city has been studied only by 5%.
Mysteries of Egypt
The search for new buildings and ships is carried out by the same Frank Gaudio, who leads a team of underwater archaeologists. Since the city is hidden under a layer of perennial mud, scientists search for underwater objects using space satellites and so-called echo sounders - measuring instruments for detecting fish and underwater objects using sound waves. Thus, recently archaeologists have calculated the location of the two columns of the main temple called Amon Garp and the ancient anchorage of ships.
Researchers have not yet shared details about the large temple, but they talked about the ship found in the parking lot. Like the floating craft discovered earlier on this territory (the remains of 64 ships were previously found), the found ship has not been completely preserved - archaeologists believe that this is part of one of the previous finds. Its length was about 13 meters and, judging by the objects found in it, it was used for sacred rituals.
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The richest city in Egypt
After finding out their coordinates, archaeological divers dived under the water to carefully study the ruins. Inside the ship's remains, they found pottery, bronze coins and jewelry. Their abundance is not surprising, because Heraklion was a rich trade center and the most important port of Ancient Egypt. According to the calculations of archaeologists, it was built in the 8th century BC and retained its high status until the construction of the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Egyptian coin and gold earring.
After Alexandria took away the status of the most important port from him, Heraklion lost his wealth. Subsequently, about 1200 years ago, the city was under water. Archaeologists still cannot name the exact cause of the flood, because they have several assumptions. The first one says that it was destroyed and sunk during a strong earthquake and a tsunami that followed. The second suggests that he remained under water due to rising sea levels.
Mysterious labyrinth
The fact that archaeologists have so far studied only a small part of the ancient city is very intriguing. Perhaps thanks to satellite technology, they will be able to find even more ancient structures and treasures. Until they are found, we recommend reading about the mysterious labyrinth found inside the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser. Inside it, archaeologists found an object that supposedly protected dead people from monsters living in the other world.
Ramis Ganiev
