2,000-year-old statues resurface from the sunken Ptolemaic City off Alexandria (video)

Egyptian authorities reported that the site, located in Aboukir Bay, may be an extension of ancient Canopus, a major center during the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years, and the Roman Empire, which governed the region for around 600 years. Over time, earthquakes and rising sea levels submerged the city along with Heracleion.

 On Thursday, cranes lifted statues from the sea while divers involved in the recovery celebrated from the shore, according to The Guardian.

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, stated:
“There are many underwater findings, but the ones we can recover are limited — only specific items that meet strict criteria. The rest will remain part of our submerged heritage.”

The underwater ruins include limestone buildings that may have served as places of worship, residences, and commercial or industrial structures. Carved rock installations for storing water and fish farming were also discovered.

Other notable finds include statues of royal figures and sphinxes from the pre-Roman era, including a partially preserved sphinx bearing the cartouche of Ramses II.

Many statues have lost parts of their bodies, such as a decapitated granite statue believed to depict a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and the lower half of a marble statue representing a Roman noble.

A commercial ship, stone anchors, and a crane dating to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods were found at a 125-meter-long harbor site, which the ministry says was used for small boats until the Byzantine era.

Alexandria is home to countless ancient ruins and historical treasures, but the city faces the same rising waters that destroyed Canopus and Heracleion. The coastal city is especially vulnerable to the climate crisis and sea-level rise.