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afrol.com, 8 June - Again Egypt is making headlines for its archeological discoveries. This time, we are dealing with the ancient town of Heraklion and Menutis, founded in the sixth and seventh century BC, and disappearing under sea level ten centuries thereafter. - We are talking about the most thrilling discovery in the history of maritime archeology, the Secretary-General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Gabalá Alí Gabalá, stated yesterday. With these words of excitement, he referred to the discovery of two ancient town only 10 meters below sea level about 6 km off the Egyptian coast, made only this weekend. They are located some 20 km east of the city of Alexandria, more precisely in Abukir Bay, off the western mouth of the Nile delta, close to the ancient town of Canope. There are references to these towns in documents of ancient travelers like Herodotus, who tell us about the town of Heraklion in the year 450 BC, reporting of its famous temple dedicated to Hercules. Both towns were founded approximately 2.500 year ago, becoming the biggest trading ports in the area. So, they became the most important urban centers before the foundation of Alexandria in the year 331 BC by Alexander the Great. And in this way, they continued their activities into the eighth century AD, the time of the Omeya caliphate. Thus, the archaeological remainders they might contain, cover a large period, which do them even more interesting. The news about their condition of conservation tell us at it is simply excellent. They are in their "pure state", with their structure, urbanism, temples and different types of remains, the majority of them from the Pharaonic age (they are the last founded town by the Egyptian pharaohs) and ancient Greek-roman periods. Some of the biggest discoveries in these towns are the temples dedicated to Isis (in Menutis) and to Hercules (in Herakleion). Next to them there are lots of sculptures, sphinxes and columns, the most ancient dated from the twenty-sixth dynasty (sixth-seventh century BC) and the thirtieth dynasty (fourth century BC). And close to them, Byzantine and Islamic rests, such as coins. The archaeologists, Egyptian and French, are equally amazed. They began to work together ten years ago in the Bay of Abukir, dedicated to find remains of the battle between Napoleon and Nelson, which took place here in 1789. Then, as they began to find remains from the Pharaonic families, such as sculptures dedicated to Isis, this Pharaonic adventure started beginning. The period of great splendor of these towns was between 712 and 332 BC, with the last Pharaonic dynasties (25th to 31st). It was a difficult period in relation to the cultural development of the Pharaonic dynasties. This fact, besides various foreign invasions and the almost constant necessity to reform the empire and to create new dynasties, makes the bibliography of this period complicated. Artistically, the most important period in Egypt corresponds with the period between 664 and 610 BC, with the 26th dynasty, which realized a revitalization of the rites and the art. Though, basically it is a copy of the forms and typologies, in the most mechanical interpretation of the word, forgetting completely the reason and content of the works. The same period also marks the arrival of the Jewish to Egypt. The next dynasty, between 610 and 595 BC, had defence as its principal objective. A proof of this is the interest of the pharaoh in constructing an important float to defend the empire, with its base in these towns now have been discovered. In any way, the team's
immediate tasks will be the further research of these towns. The field of
study is that comprehensive, that there will no need for excavations for
years to come. First, the urban structures on a coarse level will be
studied and mapped, the international group that works with this project
has decided. The workgroup is directed by the French Franck Goddio, quite
famous in the wider circles of archaeology for his "discovery"
of the Alexandrian Palace of Cleopatra in 1996, which still hasn't been confirmed.
However, there already has been expressed some skepticism about this
project being directed by a "professional" whose credibility
often has been questioned by his colleagues, besides the fact that he
neither is an archaeologist! Time will show if we are dealing with a
professional or just a new, colonizing treasure-hunter.
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