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ausar Moderator Posts: 433 |
posted 04 May 2003 01:05 PM
  
Remains of ancient undersea city discovered off Tyre Muntasser Abdullah TYRE, LEBANON The remains of a 4,000-year-old city, Yarmuta, have been found off the shores of southern Lebanon, proving the gradual receding of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Historian Youssef Hourani and the president of the syndicate of Lebanese professional divers, Muhammad Sarji, announced this week the discovery of the city of Yarmuta off the coast of Zahrani, north of the ancient city of Tyre. The remains of the city, stretching over an area of four square kilometers (1.5 square miles), are located at a depth of between three and 17 meters some 60 to 800 meters off the coast. Among the remains was a 30-meter-long wall with a width of 70 centimeters found 60 meters off the coast. "The excellent state in which the wall was found proves that the receding of the shore was a slow process," Hourani said in an interview with AFP. They also found paved roads, covered with algae, some of which were 60 meters long at a depth of five meters some 250 meters off the coast. A pile of stones that had apparently been used for the construction of houses was also discovered on the site, as well as remains of a stairway, squares and dikes at a depth of some 17 meters. "The theory of the receding shores was born after the discovery of many remains swallowed by the sea," said Hourani, who has been gathering and studying documents about undersea cities off the Lebanese coasts for 40 years. "Writings dating back to 1934 by French archaeologist Poidebard, who had carried out studies about the remains of the city of Tyre, had first drawn my attention," he explained. Hourani said Poidebard had "gathered testimony from old fishermen, who had all clearly recalled having seen visible remains under the water, off the coast of Tyre, that had later disappeared." The name of Yarmuta last appeared in the "Letters of Tal Amara," written in 1370 BC by the governor of the ancient port city of Byblos, north of Beirut. In the document, Yarmuta was described as an important center of supplies, particularly in wood, for the Pharaohs. Searches have also led to the discovery of a statue with the head of a lion and the body of a man resembling the god of "Basta," revered by the ancient Egyptians in the 15th century BC. "In the Pharaonic texts, dating back more than 38 centuries, Yarmuta was mentioned as one of the hostile cities located along the present Lebanese coast such as Sheet, Byblos or Araqa, at a time Tyre, Sidon and Beirut did not yet exist," said Hourani. He said searches for the remains of Yarmuta started two years ago following the undersea discovery, by divers led by Sarji, of remains of the ancient city of Sidon. He said the remains of ancient Sidon led to the discovery of squares and streets that provided what was considered "a first evidence of the possibility of the gradual receding of the Lebanese coast." AFP http://www.metimes.com/2K1/issue2001-14/cultent/remains_of_ancient.htm IP: Logged |
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