Scientists Recreate Egyptian Trading Town ‘Atlantis’ Buried For 1,200 Year

The city of Heracleion, home of the temple where Cleopatra was inaugurated, was one of the most important trade centres in the Mediterranean area before it disappeared into what is now the Bay of Aboukir. After removing layers of sand and mud, divers discovered evidence of extraordinary wealth, painting a picture of what life was like in Heracleion, believed to have been at the centre of Mediterranean trade more than 1,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have found remains of more than 64 ships, buried in the seabed four miles off the coast of Egypt, the largest number of ancient ships ever to be found in one place.

One of the 16ft statues found in the underwater ruins of Heraclion off the coast of Egypt, depicting an unknown Pharaoh

As well as 700 anchors, the team have dug up gold coins and weights made from bronze and stone which would have been used in trade and to calculate taxation rates.

The international research team have also discovered remnants of the legendary temple of Amun-Gereb where Cleopatra was invested with the power to rule Egypt.

A stone slap from Heracleion, left,  next to a statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis, found in the sunken city

The temple was the centre point of Heracleion from which a Venetian web of canals and channels connected other parts of the city together. Giant 16ft statues have been reassembled on the seabed 150ft below the surface before being brought ashore, as well as hundreds of smaller statues of Egyptian gods.

A bust found in the mud along the remains of Heraclion which sunk under the Mediterranean sea over 1,000 years ago

Other finds include stone blocks with both Greek and Ancient Egyptian inscriptions and dozens of sarcophagi believed to have contained mummified animals offered as sacrifices to Amun-Gereb.

A sphinx from Heracleion has been brought up from its resting place in the Bay of Aboukir

The research team, led by Dr Goddio have yet to establish what cause the city to go down, but the main theory is that the unstable sediments Heracleion was built on collapsed, and in combination with a rising sea-levels, may have caused the entire area to drop 12 feet straight into the water.

Real-life Atlantis: The sunken city of Heracleion, brought to life by the research team investigating the site 150ft under the sea where it now lays, including the main temple of Amun-Gerb, centre-right

‘We are just at the beginning of our research,’ Dr Goddio told the Telegraph. ’We will probably have to continue working for the next 200 years.’