Underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team of divers were searching for shipwrecks when they stumbled upon some relics, which led to one of the greatest finds of the 21st century: the sunken Egyptian city of Thonis-Heracleion.
The grand 1,600-year-old city had been mentioned by 5th century BC historian Herodotus, who described it as an extraordinary city of ‘great wealth.’ Then the city vanished around 1,200 years ago.
Thonis-Heracleion was thought to be a legend for centuries when… lo and behold!
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Head of a colossal statue of red granite (5.4 meters) representing the god Hapi, which decorated the temple of Heracleion.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
More and more statues and fragments are brought to surface, still in excellent condition. Some of them date back as early as the 2nd century BC.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
A gold object engraved with a Greek text.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Bronze statue of Osiris, the assassinated and resurrected king-god.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Diver measuring the feet of a colossal red granite statue.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Bronze oil lamp (about 2nd century BC)
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Franck Goddio with the still intact and inscribed Heracleion stele, which is identical to the Naukratis Stele in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. This one was commissioned by Nectanebo I (378-362 BC).
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Franck inspecting a stone with gold fragments.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
A gold vessel (Phiale)
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
A statue of a Ptolemaic queen
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Colossus of a Ptolemaic queen made out of red granite, which measures 490 cm in height and weighs 4 tons.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Raising to the surface the head of a pharaoh statue, which measures over 5 meters.
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Bronze statuette of pharaoh of the 26th dynasty
Christoph Gerigk ©Franck Goddio Hilti Foundation
Credit: Franck Goddio
“We are just at the beginning of our research,” Franck Goddio said. “We will probably have to continue working for the next 200 years for Thonis-Heracleion to be fully revealed and understood.”
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