Alexandria Thonis Heracleon Egypt

Alexandria Thonis Heracleon Egypt

Thonis-Heracleion

Ancient Egypt for centuries long history of the god of fertility about 2,700 years ago in the present Gulf of Abu Kir far from Alexandria. As a kingdom (trade port) this region for centuries and also a center of international trade, a connection point to the Western world. Thonis-Heracleion a flourishing city an ancient Egyptian city lost in the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria. In the late period of the pharaohs, the ancient Greeks gave more importance to Thonis. The legend of the beginning of Thonis dates back to the 12th century BC. Thonis-Heracleion is known as both an Egyptian and a Greek name. The city was originally called Thonis. The Egyptian-Greek city of Thonis-Heracleion began in the 7th century BC as a port city.

Directly connected to the Egyptian-Greek trade city submerged for more than 1,000 years. The large red granite gate of one of the ports "Canopus" an ancient port city to the east of Alexandria is a lowland and islands. The beginning of the 7th century BC and "Araklion" in the past the village called Zoit the Egyptian settlement that was replaced is the old area used by the native Egyptians. It is about the same size as Memphis. The largest settlement in the Thebaid province. Unlike Naukratis, the West Delta has Greek temples and the cult of Dionysus and Zeus. The city's population is also divided into groups and tribes. It has its own government. There are inscriptions and papyrus like Greek cities.

The replacement of the city of Tonis. The founding of Alexandria by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Built the first capital on the Mediterranean coast. Used in the late 4th century BC. Alexandria has become the largest city in the Mediterranean area. The unification of the territory into a city-state and a new territory on the Mediterranean coast. The beginning of the construction of the capital and the planning of the city of Alexandria. Heading east The Egyptian settlement beneath Alexandria preserved its culture and other sites. Alexandria an important industrial center, was connected to nature, the center of Hellenistic civilization in Egypt and the connection point between Greece and the Nile Valley.

 Archaeologists have discovered parts of the city. Photo: Christoph Gerigk © Franck Goddio / Hilti Foundation / image : arkeonews

At the end of the 8th century about 101 years ago Thonis sank under the sea. Due to earthquakes and high sea levels Heraklion Island and its central harbor collapsed. The hard clay quickly turned into liquid and the buildings collapsed into the water. The huge waves at the time when Thonis-Heraklion was submerged under the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Thonis-Heraklion began to collapse. The ruins of the city are located in the present-day Aboukir Bay 7 kilometers 4 miles from the coast about 6 meters underwater.

Thonis-Heraklion is submerged

Divers carrying a large underwater dredge vacuum cleaner sucked away the top layer of sand revealing the archaeological layers beneath. Temple ruins Coins and jewelry pottery fragments oil lamps busts and a black stone tablet were excavated in the temple of the god Nectanebo I Amun-Gereb carved in hieroglyphics from the early 4th century. Sacred offerings The tablet also helps solve a long-standing mystery with other inscribed monuments. An earthquake in the late 2nd century BC caused the city of Thonis-Heraklion to collapse like a liquid. Starting at the foot of the statue of the god Hapi and the carved stone were ruins. Valuables including antiquities small jewelry and cups fell into the sea. Debris covered the remains of the city making it impossible to discover it by accident. It was abandoned under the sea floor for 1,200 years.

Tonis-Heraklion is underwater / image : atlasobscura. 

In the early 2000s the Hapy rock, discovered by divers off the coast of Egypt, was a large seabed rock. The search unearthed more including a 16-foot-tall Ptolemaic colossus and other treasures. Part of the area was a marshland and the Princess Duda research vessel was used to re-examine the nature of Egypt and its interactions with the ancient Greek world. Ancient Greek anchors Athenian perfume bottles Cypriot statues and incense burners the remains of the city of Thonis-Heracleion and the interactions between Pharaonic and Greek societies in Thonis-Heracleion. Part of the area was the urban sprawl that while deep-sea explorers turned up glass cups 13 limestone animal sarcophagi small gemstones and ritual sculptures. Some of these objects are completely unique of great historical or artistic significance” Masson-Berghoff told The Guardian. “They really pushed us to rethink.”

Large stone Egyptian pharaoh statue / Thonis-Heraklion / image : jules-verne

Ptolemy Roman Serapium

Ptolemy Soter and his consort Tais This dynasty ruled Egypt from 305 BC during the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt. The last dynasty to rule ancient Egypt. This dynasty ended when Cleopatra VII died and Egypt was part of the Roman Empire. The integration of Greek culture during the Ptolemy rule flourished between 237 and 57 BC. Inscriptions on the walls of the temple The Temple of Edfu chronicling the long conflict between Horus and Seth are the remains of dozens of ancient shipwrecks under the sea. Coins are under the ruins of the temple buildings from natural disasters during the Ptolemaic rule. During the Roman era Serapium Memphis the ancient Egyptian temple to the god Osiris had a "Greek" Ptolemaic cult emphasizing the historical figure of fertility along the Nile in a mystery ritual that spread throughout the Mediterranean dedicated to Osiris.

“Alexandria” covers an area of ​​over 500 square kilometers under the Mediterranean Sea the land of the lost time of the former port city of the changed government. “Alexandria” has returned to become the city of Heraklion underwater again. The story of the ancient temple the ritual ceremony hidden for thousands of years has become a complete habitat for marine life under the beautiful temple lined up as the entrance to the temple from the surface of the water instead of on land. 

Underwater Explorers Discover Underwater Granite Statues / Thonis-Heraklion /image : spiegel.de

Underwater explorers found perfectly preserved vertical hieroglyphic stone slabs ancient shipwrecks a 19-foot-tall black granite sphinx statue and a red granite sphinx as well as ancient objects around the base of the temple that were submerged underwater including human bones stuck under the ruins of the temple which indicates a great disaster. Many pieces of evidence indicate that natural disasters have occurred such as the discovery of gold, jewelry, coins, and gold sheets scattered around the temple area. If it were not for these natural disasters, people would have collected them all. These can explain the end of the great metropolis that has disappeared and collapsed completely eliminating any doubt. Evidence of the natural disaster of the city of “Alexandria”