Egypt has recovered new sunken artefacts from the Mediterranean Sea close to the northern metropolis of Alexandria for the primary time in practically 25 years, officers stated on Thursday.
Divers used ropes to connect 4 items to a crane, which lifted them out of the muddy water one after the other. The artefacts have been then positioned rigorously for show throughout a ceremony held in Alexandria’s Abu Qir Bay.
The items embrace a 2.17-metre lengthy head- and legless granite statue that’s believed to belong to the Late Interval or the Ptolemaic period, officers stated. It’s estimated to have initially been 5 metres lengthy.
Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mohamed Ismail Khaled, stated the findings are the primary restoration of underwater artefacts since 2001.
They’re a part of an excavation venture launched in 2023, when archeologists started documenting underwater buildings discovered round 2.5 kilometres from the traditional sunken metropolis of Thonis-Heracleion in Abu Qir Bay, stated Khaled.
The positioning is “thought-about an extension of the traditional metropolis, as buildings discovered confirmed financial, burial and different elements,” Khaled advised dpa.
Heracleion, which was found within the Nineties, is believed to have been submerged after an earthquake hit Egypt within the second century BC.
Thursday’s finds are additional proof the town was submerged as a consequence of an earthquake, officers stated.
“The statue’s physique is the strongest half, not like the legs and head that are simply damaged,” Khaled famous.
Archaeologists have additionally found a ship, and additional particulars can be revealed after it’s studied underwater, he added.
Egypt has been engaged on boosting tourism revenues, after the Suez Canal – one other primary supply of nationwide earnings – was affected by regional turmoil, as assaults prompted many vessels to keep away from the waterway.
The Mediterranean nation is hoping that the long-awaited official inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, set for November 1, attracts extra guests.
Final month, Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy stated that Egypt recorded a 22% improve within the variety of vacationers through the first half of 2025, reaching 8.7 million guests, in comparison with the primary six months of 2024.
The nation hopes to carry that quantity to no less than 17.5 million guests by the top of 2025.
An historic artefact is retrieved from the Mediterranean seabed at Abu Qir port. Archaeologists and divers have retrieved a set of artefacts from the seabed at Abu Qir in Alexandria, together with the stays of sphinx statues and marble figures relationship again to the Roman and Ptolemaic intervals. Gehad Hamdy/dpa
An historic artefact is retrieved from the Mediterranean seabed at Abu Qir port. Archaeologists and divers have retrieved a set of artefacts from the seabed at Abu Qir in Alexandria, together with the stays of sphinx statues and marble figures relationship again to the Roman and Ptolemaic intervals. Gehad Hamdy/dpa
