2,200-Year-Old Fruit Baskets Found in the Underwater City of Heracleion

Fruit baskets — with fruit still inside — that are more than 2,200 years old were discovered recently in the ruins of Thonis-Heracleion, the ancient lost city near Alexandria, Egypt.

The city, once the nexus of Mediterranean trade routes in the Hellenistic era, sank beneath the waves in the second century BC as the result of earthquakes and tidal waves that liquified the ground underneath it.

Imposing temples, such as the one dedicated to Amon, or Herakles, fell into the water and lay untouched there until the year 2000 when French diver Franck Goddio discovered them and brought many of them to the surface.

When the stones fell they trapped boats and cargo under them, preserving them in the clay of the sea bottom. This ensured that spectacular discoveries, such as Goddio’s recent find of a Greek/Egyptian wooden ship, would be protected from the ravages of time.

But no one expected to discover an intact basket — complete with the fruit it held — almost 2200 years later.

The wooden vessel, along with hundreds of ancient ceramic vases and amphorae — some of them meant for use in burials — as well as bronze treasures have been recently discovered in the waters containing the remains of the legendary city of Thonis-Heracleion off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt.

The ship had been moored at a wharf in the canal that flowed along the south face of the temple when the disaster occurred. The fallen blocks actually protected this ancient Greek shipwreck by pinning it to the bottom of the deep canal, which was then filled with clay and the debris of the sanctuary. The shipwreck lies under 5 meters (15 feet) of hard clay, mingled with the remains of the temple.

Fruit basket from Heracleion only the latest spectacular finds at the site of the lost city.

Almost miraculously, the ancient Greek ship was only detected through the use of a cutting-edge sonar prototype called a “sub-bottom profiler.”

“The finds of fast galleys from this period remain extremely rare”, explains Goddio, “the only other example to date being the Punic Marsala Ship from 235 BC.

The remains of the city sank even further into the clay bottom of the sea in the eighth century AD, following further natural disasters, including additional earthquakes and tidal waves. The city served as Egypt’s largest port on the Mediterranean Sea even before Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in the year 331 BC, with the intention of that city becoming his capital.

One of the greatest archaeological finds of recent times was made in the years 1999 and 2000, when Goddio discovered and brought to the surface the monuments of the ancient city, which had been lying for more than two thousand years in only 30-odd feet of water. Many of the massive statues belonging to the Temple of Amon/Herakles were in nearly perfect condition; some of the treasures he brought to the surface were shown in an exhibition at London’s British Museum in 2016.

Goddio, long used to finding hoards of archaeological treasures in the lost city of Heracleion, expressed complete amazement at his latest find, telling the Guardian that the fruit baskets found most recently were “incredible”, since they had been untouched for more than 2,000 years.

In the most stunning discovery of all, the baskets were still full of doum, the fruit of an African palm tree that was sacred to ancient Egyptians. Additionally, there were grape seeds as well, which can be used for pressing to make oil.

“Nothing was disturbed,” he told reporters. “It was very striking to see baskets of fruits.”

The basket may have a connection to funeral rites. Goddio told reporters that they had been placed inside an underground room, contributing to the likelihood that they would be preserved. The fruit basket was inside the same area where the funerary pottery was discovered, on a tumulus, or a mound that had been constructed over graves. The tumulus measured approximately 60 meters long by 8 meters wide (197 feet by 26.24 feet)

These findings date back two centuries before the destruction of the city, to the early fourth century BC, at the time of the greatest flourishing of the city, when Greek merchants and other Greek people lived in Thonis-Heracleion.

New finds part of tumulus containing Greek pottery, “exquisite” gold amulet

The Greek people had been allowed to settle in the area during the late Pharaonic period, as they were known for their skills as merchants and traders and that area soon controlled the entrance to Egypt at the mouth of the Canopic branch of the Nile. The Greeks were even allowed to construct their own religious temples, including that dedicated to the god Amun, or Hercules.

Goddio explained to interviewers that the tumulus “is a kind of island surrounded by channels. In those channels, we found an unbelievable amount of deposits made of bronze, including a lot of statuettes of Osiris (the ancient Egyptian fertility god).

“On that island, (was) something totally different. We found hundreds of deposits made of ceramic. One above the other. These are imported ceramic, red-on-black figures from the Attic period.”

Not only the spectacular Attic vases and amphorae but mirrors and quantities of statuettes were found in the tumulus as well.

Perhaps most fascinatingly, Goddio also discovered extensive evidence of burning, which he believes suggests that there had been a “spectacular” ceremony that in effect barred anyone from entering the particular site ever again — until now.

Strangely, the tumulus appears to have been sealed for hundreds of years, Goddio stated, since none of the artifacts he found were from later than the early fourth century BC — despite the fact that the city thrived for several hundred years after that time, when it finally sunk under the waves.

Goddio stated “There’s something very strange here. That site has been used maybe one time, never touched before, never touched after, for a reason that we cannot understand for the time being. It’s a big mystery.”

The underwater archaeologist says that he hopes to find answers to this conundrum in some of the treasures themselves. His newest finds include other carbon-based objects which rarely survive more than a few hundred years underwater, including the well-preserved remains of a wooden sofa for banquets.

In addition, Goddio said, there was also a large Attic vase and a gold amulet which he said was of “exquisite quality.”

The European Institute for Underwater Archaeology, or IEASM, is led by Goddio. The Institute works in close cooperation with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and has the support of the Hilti Foundation, which makes historic finds like these possible.

Goddio’s newest discoveries will be studied and preserved before being put on display in museums so the public can view them. Despite the many jaw-dropping discoveries already made at the site over the past 20 years, Goddio says that there is far more in store. So far, he says, only about 3% of the sunken city has been explored so far.

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of what may be one of the four lost Ancient Egyptian “Sun Temples”

A Polish and Italian archaeological mission, while conducting an excavation in the Abusir necropolis near Saqqara in Egypt, unearthed the remains of a mud-brick building believed to be one of the lost “sun temples” of ancient Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty.

The discovery hints that the remains might belong to one of the lost four solar temples from Dynasty 5, known only in historical sources but yet to have been found thus far.

According to a statement released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism on Saturday, the building was discovered beneath the King Nyuserre temple in the Abusir area, south of Cairo.

“Preliminary studies indicate that the new discovery may be one of the four lost sun temples that date back to the Fifth Dynasty,” the ministry statement said.

These temples are thought to date back to the Fifth Dynasty (2465 to 2323 BC).

Abusir is an Old Kingdom necropolis that functioned as one of the principal cemeteries for Memphis, the Ancient Egyptian capital. The site comprises of 14 royal pyramids, mastaba, and tombs dating from the early 25th century BC to the mid-24th century BC.

In a context layer that pre-dates the temple, the team found evidence of a mud-brick building and quartz blocks, that according to officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, could be the remains of one of the four lost sun temples.

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism said in a statement: “The building is accessible through an entrance built in the limestone rock, leading to an area with a paved floor and containing huge blocks of quartz.”

Although it is believed that six sun temples were constructed, only two have been found thus far.

Sun temples were constructed to honour the Ancient Egyptian god Ra, the god of the sun, order, kings, and the sky.

The temples of the Fifth Dynasty usually consisted of three parts: a considerably smaller entry structure, and a causeway leading to the main temple building at a higher height.

Excavations also uncovered ceramic vessels, beer pots, and red-rimmed containers, which were likely used in temple rituals and ceremonies.

The sun temples may have all been built around Abu Gharab.

Dominican mission discovers 1,305-meter Greco-Roman ancient rock-cut tunnel in Alexandria

A Greco-Roman tunnel measuring 1,305 meters in length was discovered beneath Tapuziris Magna, an Ancient Egyptian city, by an Egyptian-Dominican archaeological mission from the University of Santo Domingo.

The tunnel was carved into the rock and is 1,305 m long, 2 meters high and 13 meters underground, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The team, led by archaeologist Kathleen Martinez, found the heads of two Ptolemaic-era alabaster statues near the temple, one of which was likely a sphinx representation.

Dr. Kathleen Martins, head of the mission, explained that initial studies indicate that the architectural design of the uncovered tunnel is very similar to the Yubilinus tunnel project in Greece, but is longer, describing it as an engineering miracle.

She added by saying that several pottery pots and ceramic jars, as well as a rectangular block of limestone, were discovered beneath the mud and sand during the excavations and archaeological survey of the tunnel.

The mission is attempting to uncover a portion of the Temple of Taposiris Magna’s foundations that have been revealed by numerous pieces of archaeological evidence.

According to scientific sources, at least 23 earthquakes struck the Egyptian coast between 320 AD and 1303 AD, causing a portion of the temple of Taposiris Magna to collapse and sink beneath the waves.

It is worth noting that the Egyptian- Dominican mission was able to find many important artefacts inside the temple during previous excavation seasons, including coins bearing the images and names of Queen Cleopatra IIV and Alexander the Great, as well as several headless statues and statues of the goddess Isis, as well as various inscriptions and busts of various shapes and sizes.

The mission also discovered a network of tunnels stretching from King Marriott Lake to the Mediterranean, 16 burials inside rock-cut tombs commonly used in the Greek and Roman periods, and several mummies highlighting the features of the mummification process during the Greek and Roman periods.

Shrine With Never-Before-Seen Ritual Discovered In Egyptian Temple

Archaeologists have discovered a shrine in a temple in Egypt that describes a ritual never seen before. It comes from the religious complex of the ancient seaport of Berenike, a city that dates back to the third century BCE.

The complex itself is a lot more modern having been built over 700 years later, during the decline and final century of the Western Roman Empire.

The newly found place of worship has been named the “Falcon Shrine” by researchers due to the material found that suggests a ritual function associated with a falcon cult, and dates from the fourth to sixth centuries CE.

During this time, the city was partially occupied by the Blemmyes, a nomadic group of people from the Nubian region who had spread to many other areas of Egypt’s Eastern desert.

This finding gives new insight into the religious practices of the Blemmyes and how they merged them with the Egyptian belief system. The most incredible find, giving the shrine its name, was the discovery of 15 falcons – most of them headless – buried within the temple.

The burial of mummified falcons has been found in other temples but usually only one on its own. Finding multiple birds together with eggs is a unique discovery.

“The material findings are particularly remarkable and include offerings such as harpoons, cube-shaped statues, and a stele with indications related to religious activities,” Professor Joan Oller Guzmán, the Sikait Project research team director said in a statement.

Among the material findings, the stele is particularly intriguing. The stele is believed to depict a procession of gods and bears an inscription that reads: “It is improper to boil a head in here.”

A prohibition such as this in a religious temple has not been seen before in Berenike and implies that performing that ritual in the temple was a profane activity. It was likely performed elsewhere.

According to Professor Oller, “all of these elements point to intense ritual activities combining Egyptian traditions with contributions from the Blemmyes, sustained by a theological base possibly related to the worshipping of the god Khonsu.

The discoveries expand our knowledge of these semi-nomad people, the Blemmyes, living in the Eastern desert during the decline of the Roman Empire.”

The team’s working hypothesis is that this shrine is older and had a different use before the Blemmyes arrived and repurposed it for their religious ceremonies.

As Egyptian religious ceremonies continued to take place at the same time in Berenike, it is possible that these semi-nomadic people included Egyptian traditions in their practices, adding new rituals.

The work was published in the American Journal of Archaeology.

Shrine discovered with rituals never seen to take place before in an Egyptian temple

Researchers from the Sikait Project, directed by UAB Professor Joan Oller Guzmán, recently published new findings from the excavations of the Berenike site, a Greco-Roman seaport in the Egyptian Eastern desert. The study results, published in the American Journal of Archaeology, describe the excavation of a religious complex from the Late Roman Period (between the fourth and sixth centuries) with unprecedented discoveries linked to the presence of the Blemmyes, a nomadic people.

The Sikait Project research team, directed by Professor Joan Oller Guzmán from the Department of Antiquity and Middle Age Studies at the UAB, with financial support from the Fundación PALARQ and the necessary permits from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, recently published in the American Journal of Archeology the results obtained from the January 2019 excavation season at the ancient seaport of Berenike, located in Egypt’s Eastern desert.

The paper describes the archaeological dig of a religious complex from the Late Roman Period (4th to 6th centuries CE) named the “Falcon Shrine” by researchers and located within the Northern Complex, one of the most important buildings of the city of Berenike at that time.

The site, which was excavated by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the University of Delaware, was a Red Sea harbour founded by Ptolomy II Philadelphus (3rd century BCE) and continued to operate into the Roman and Byzantine periods when it was turned into the main point of entrance for commerce coming from Cape Horn, Arabia and India.

Within this chronological period, one of the phases yielding the newest discoveries was the one corresponding to the Late Roman Period, from the fourth to sixth centuries CE, a period in which the city seemed to be partially occupied and controlled by the Blemmyes, a nomadic group of people from the Nubian region who at that moment were expanding their domains throughout the greater part of Egypt’s Eastern desert.

In this sense, the Northern Complex is fundamental in providing clear evidence of a link with the Blemmyes people, thanks to the discovery of inscriptions to some of their kings or the aforementioned Falcon Shrine.

Researchers were able to identify a small traditional Egyptian temple, which after the 4th century was adapted by the Blemmyes to their own belief system.

“The material findings are particularly remarkable and include offerings such as harpoons, cube-shaped statues, and a stele with indications related to religious activities, which was chosen for the cover of the journal’s current issue”, highlights UAB researcher Joan Oller.

The most remarkable consecrated element found was the arrangement of up to 15 falcons within the shrine, most of them headless.

Although burials of falcons for religious purposes had already been observed in the Nile Valley, as had the worshipping of individual birds of this species, this is the first time researchers discovered falcons buried within a temple, and accompanied by eggs, something completely unprecedented. In other sites, researchers had found mummified headless falcons, but always only individual specimens, never in groups as in the case of Berenike.

The stele contains a curious inscription, reading: “It is improper to boil a head in here”, which far from being a dedication or sign of gratitude as normally corresponds to an inscription, is a message forbidding all those who enter from boiling the heads of the animals inside the temple, considered to be a profane activity.  

According to Joan Oller, “all of these elements point to intense ritual activities combining Egyptian traditions with contributions from the Blemmyes, sustained by a theological base possibly related to the worshipping of the god Khonsu”. He goes on to say, “The discoveries expand our knowledge of these semi-nomad people, the Blemmyes, living in the Eastern desert during the decline of the Roman Empire”.

In Egypt, Two Greco-Roman Mummies Found Discarded in Sewers

If there’s any indication that the underbelly of Egypt is still teeming with priceless cultural relics, it’s the fact that a number of said relics have ended up in the country’s sewage system.

Police have found several ancient sarcophagi floating down a sewage canal in Egypt, likely ditched by people digging illegally in the area.

The mummies were originally housed in tombs located in a small village near the city of Minya, about 245 km south of Cairo on the western bank of the Nile River.

They’re now with the national Ministry of Antiquities, and based on the way the mummies were wrapped up, they’ve been dated to the Greco-Roman era, which ended around 1,600 years ago. While they were covered in many thick layers of linen, few bodily parts remain inside.

“The sarcophagi the police found the mummies in were … floating in sewage, and their conditions were so bad that they had disintegrated, according to the report of the ministry,” Nada Deyaa’ reports for Daily News Egypt.

“They had drawings of women with several colours clearly outlining and showing their faces on their top covers.”

Ministry officials suspect that the mummies ended up in the sewer because people digging illegally in the area accidentally uncovered the tombs.

Due to the severe government restrictions on digging activity, they panicked, and ditched the evidence in the sewage canals, “despite realising their cultural value”, says Deyaa’.

“The robbers may have resorted to dumping these sarcophagi in the irrigation canal when they felt that authorities were closing in on them, or perhaps when they were approaching a security checkpoint,” Head of the Antiquities Sector at the ministry, Youssef Khalifa, said in a public statement.

Despite restoration efforts not faring so great, Youssef Khalifa said the mummies and their sarcophagi will be placed in Minya’s Hermopolis Museum for public viewing. 

Hoard of Islamic era gold and silver coins found behind Egyptian temple

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a nearly 1,000-year-old cache of gold and silver coins behind a temple in Esna, a city located along the Nile River.

The hoard, which was discovered by a team of researchers from Egypt’s Supreme Council for Archaeology, includes coins minted throughout different parts of the Islamic era, which began in A.D. 610, when Muhammad received his first revelation, and lasted until approximately the 13th century(opens in new tab). 

Notable coins found during the excavation, which began last year, include 286 silver coins of kings and kingdoms from that era, as well as a variety of gold coins, a coin from Armenia that was minted during King Leo II’s reign in the 13th century, and bronze and brass coins from the Ottoman Empire.

Also found among the “hidden treasure” were dirhams (silver coins used across several Arab states, including today’s United Arab Emirates) minted by a variety of kings and sultans.

In addition, researchers unearthed molds and weights that were used during the minting process, according to a translated statement.

Archaeologists(opens in new tab) aren’t sure why the hoard of coins was abandoned at the temple site and hope further analyses of the cache will provide clues to the coins’ history, according to the statement.

New Kingdom Sarcophagus Discovered at Saqqara

To the south of the causeway of King Unas in Saqqara necropolis, the archaeological mission of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, headed by Ola El-Aguizy, stumbled upon the sarcophagus of Ptahemwia from the reign of King Ramses II, whose tomb was discovered last year in Saqqara.

Mostafa Waziry, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said Ptahemwia holds several titles, including the royal scribe, the great overseer of the cattle in the temple of Ramses II, the head of the treasury, and the one responsible for the offerings of all gods of Lower and Upper Egypt.

Waziri said the entrance to the shaft of the tomb at the centre of the peristyle court measured 2.2 X 2.1 m. The subterranean burial chamber opened on the west side of the shaft at the depth of 7 m.

It led to a square room measuring 4.2 X 4.5 m, leading to two other rooms on the western and the southern sides. 

These two rooms were completely empty. In the main room, he added, a cut in the floor on the north side was noticed, leading to stairs that led to the burial chamber proper which measured 4.6 X 3.7 m. 

El-Aguizy explained that the sarcophagus was uncovered on the west side of the burial chamber. It was directed south-north with an anthropoid lid showing the facial features of the deceased with crossed arms on the chest holding the Djed symbol of the deity Osiris and the Tyet symbol of the goddess Isis. 

The sarcophagus is decorated with the usual inscriptions found on New Kingdom sarcophagi, with the bearded head of the owner, the sky-goddess Nut seated on the chest extending her wings.

Engraved on the lid and body of the sarcophagus is the name of Ptahemwia and his titles, representations of the four sons of Horus, and the prayers accompanying them all around the body of the sarcophagus.

“The lid of the sarcophagus was broken diagonally, and the missing part was found in the corner of the chamber. It has been restored to its original position. The sarcophagus was empty except for some residue of tar from the mummification on the bottom of the sarcophagus,” El-Aguizy pointed out.