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Egypt to excavate Roman city submerged in sea
May 22 2006 at 07:11PM
Cairo - The Egyptian authorities have given the go ahead for the underwater exploration of what appears to be a Roman city submerged in the Mediterranean, Egypt's top archaeologist said on Monday.
Zahi Hawass said in a statement that an excavation team had found the ruins of the Roman city 35km east of the Suez Canal on Egypt's north coast.
Archaeologists had found buildings, bathrooms, ruins of a Roman fortress, ancient coins, bronze vases and pieces of pottery that all date back to the Roman era, the statement said. Egypt's Roman era lasted from 30 BC to 337 AD.
The excavation team also found four bridges that belonged to a submerged castle, part of which had been discovered on the Mediterranean coastline in 1910.
The statement said evidence indicated that part of the site was on the coast and part of it submerged in the sea. The area marked Egypt's eastern border during the Roman era.
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Wow that's so awsome. I would love to see pictures, wonder if they will post some... Seems strange to me that it wasn't "discovered" before now, with all the technology we have these days. lol Thanx for the info. Posts: 177 | From: Alexandria,Egypt / Missouri,USA | Registered: May 2006
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posted
I have been reading about the possibility and planning for "undersea tourism". Possibily this excavation with be the start of that.
But the waves in Alex are exceedingly strong, and having regular dive groups could destroy some of the antiquities. I am sure UNESCO has had their hands in this project from the get go. Might explain why the Antiquities Department of Egypt is demanding so many artifacts back. "Give us our artifacts we will comply with UNESCOs demands concerning undersea tourism."
Its not implicitly implied, but thats the gist I get from it.
-------------------- Don't freak out, sonomod, Organized Crime, whatever. If I annoy you its me! Posts: 1765 | Registered: Mar 2006
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