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Egypt: The temple in the sunken city

2019-08-29T03:13:20.847Z


The Nile Delta is home to one of the largest ancient Egyptian treasures, the sunken city of Thonis-Herakleion. There, underwater archaeologists now surprisingly discovered a Greek temple.



One can only imagine what happened in Thonis-Herakleion, but the disaster that plagued the city of the Nile Delta more than 2,000 years ago must have been devastating:

An earthquake was followed by a huge landslide, which tore the buildings into the sea. A tidal wave finally sealed the fate of the Mediterranean port and its inhabitants.

What remained was a small archaeological sensation. It is located not far from today's Alexandria in front of the bay of Abukir in the sea.

In 2001, underwater archaeologists discovered the excellently preserved remains of the settlement in search of a wreck. There were large rocks in the bottom of the sea. Pillars lay in the sand, as if they had supported a temple yesterday.

Over the years, many wrecks, statues and stone tablets with inscriptions were uncovered. Egyptologists were able to prove by their deciphering that they had found Heraclitus. So the Greeks called the place, the Egyptians baptized it Thonis.

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The numerous discoveries are due to the specialist world of Franck Goddio and his team from the European Institute of Underwater Archeology (IEASM). The Frenchman, who used to work as a financial expert, has devoted himself to archeology for years, is a recognized expert. With the support of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, he has dived for over 20 years in the Bay of Abukir.

Goddio get many smaller finds, which together provided an increasingly meaningful picture of Herakleion and his demise. Now his followers have investigated a temple that was once dedicated to Amun, the highest ancient Egyptian god. The construction had apparently slid almost completely into a canal due to the landslide, the archaeologists conclude. They discovered the remains of the wall and numerous other objects of daily life - such as ceramics and coins - about 3.5 meters below the seabed.

The temple dates from the period of the 30th Dynasty at the beginning of the 4th century BC and was under the reign of Ptolemy VIII when the cataclysm occurred. The reign of the ruler called "Physkon " (the Fat One) because of his abundance fell into the Ptolemaic period, that period in which Egypt was dominated by Macedonian-Greek rulers.

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Archeology in Egypt: The Last Secrets of Thonis-Heracleion

In addition to the Amun Temple, Goddio wrote in a statement, the team discovered a Greek round temple. Known is a so-called Tholos from the famous excavation Delphi. The building had apparently been destroyed during the same landslide. Again, the researchers found well-preserved bronze and silver objects.

Some coins may come from Cyprus. Further evidence that the site, once upon a time at the mouth of the Nile, was not only a religious center, but also a major trading center.

Thonis-Herakleion was built on several small islands. The research team had discovered dozens of shipwrecks in the past. Some brought goods from the Mediterranean to the port. There merchandise such as precious metals or wood were distributed to smaller barges, which they distributed over a densely branched sewer network further in the empire.

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Thonis-Herakleion was not the only settlement in the western Nile delta. Nearby was the port of Kanopus, which was nearly leveled during the quake. In the investigation of the remains archeologists but found evidence that there continued the Egyptian-Greek life after the disaster. This is attested by temples and a Christian monastery.

During this year's excavations, Roman structures were also found. This is probably a water pipe system that belongs to a bath house. The archaeologists discovered Islamic and Byzantine jewelry and gold coins. Dates reveal that the archaeological area was inhabited from the 6th century BC to the 8th century AD.

Around this time it was finally over with the multiculturalism in Thonis-Herakleion. Everything that was rebuilt after the catastrophe in the middle of the 2nd century before Christ fell victim to a quake again, researchers believe. Apparently, people finally did not have the courage to rebuild the place.

Source: spiegel

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