Remains of an almost unique warship discovered in Thonis-Heracleion

In an earlier blog (see: Heracleion, ancient Greek port in Egypt), I summarized the outcome of years of underwater excavations at the modern site of Abukir Bay, roughly 37 kiometers east of Alexandria. The city reached its peak between the 6th and the 4th century BC. 

By 2019, excavations exposed 70 ancient shipwrecks (see: A unique Egyptian baris found at Thonis-Heracleion). We should remember that pending the completion of Alexander’s Alexandria, which started in 331 BC, Thonis-Heracleion was the largest harbor in Egypt. 

[A diver examines the remains of an ancient military vessel discovered in the Mediterranean sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. Reuters]

Today, the city made headlines once again as the remains of an ancient Greek warship were exposed. They have been dated to the 2^nd century BC, i.e., in Ptolemaic times. This find is almost unique because until now, only one other warship from this period exists. It is a Punic ship called Marsala found in western Sicily. 

The warship was discovered beneath the remains of a funerary temple from the 4th century BC. Archaeologists have established that the temple was destroyed by a strong earthquake in the 2nd century BC. As a result, the building blocks of this sanctuary fell on the warship, which sank into the muddy seabed. This muddy bottom solidified, and, in the process, it contributed to preserving the ship. 

Despite the damage caused by the crumbling temple, a preliminary study helped to determine that the vessel was approximately 25 meters long. Based on the wood and shipbuilding fashion, the study also revealed that the ship was built in Egypt using a mixture of Greek and Egyptian techniques and decoration styles. 

[Picture from the National News]

The solid layer of mud also yielded some artifacts and bits of stone and rubble from the temple as it collapsed. 

Year after year, the submerged port of Thonis-Heracleion exposes ever more secrets buried for twenty centuries. With each and every archaeological investigation, we obtain a closer view of how this coastline looked in Alexander’s day before he opted to build an entirely new harbor that still exists today.