The Black Stone of Pharaoh Nectanebo I

The black stone of Pharaoh Nectanebo I

These treasures from the underwater city of Tonis-Heraclion underscore a significant underwater archaeological discovery These artifacts demonstrate the artistic and administrative power of the last pharaoh of native Egypt Nectanebo I c. 380–362 BC. confirming the city's role as a crucial entry point for Greek merchants entering Egypt A large black granite inscription from the reign of Pharaoh Nectanebo I details religious sacrifices and the order with which the city played a significant role as a center of trade and religion before being lost to the sea

The Tonis-Heraclion inscription discovered underwater by Franck Goddio is almost identical to the Navkratis inscription Another important find is a black sandstone bas-relief depicting Nectanebo I offering bread on this black sandstone structure located in El-Rashid Alexandria. The last native ruler of ancient Egypt is shown offering a loaf of bread Nectanebo II the third and last pharaoh of the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt built these obelisks in Hermopolis now Al-Ashmunain in central Egypt These obelisks were erected during the late Thirtieth Dynasty around 350 BC. for the temple of the god Thoth Intricate hieroglyphs are carved on the black sandstone obelisks recording Nectanebo II's dedication The top of one of the obelisks is still on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo

The Talamagos ship

A remarkable shipwreck has been discovered underwater in the eastern harbor of Alexandria a talamagos often called a Nile party boat or ceremonial vessel associated with festivals and religious processions The wreck is located near the submerged island of Antirodos part of the Portus Magnus a Roman port that once had a vast network of harbors The discovery was made by a team from the Greek-Roman port of Alexandria It measures approximately 28 meters in length and 7 meters in width The center of the new exploration is the former royal harbor area near Antirodos close to the Temple of Isis and structures associated with the late Ptolemaic and early Roman aristocracy

High-precision sonar surveys of the seabed clearly indicated that what they found was not a typical ancient cargo ship and may have been used for aristocratic celebrations and sacred rituals in 1st-century Egypt Underwater talamagos off the coast of Egypt Archaeologists continue to collect artifacts from the submerged city of Alexandria a city once plagued by earthquakes and rising sea levels The latest French-Egyptian joint expedition used modern technology to document these significant discoveries.

The recent underwater discovery of rock carvings of ancient Egyptian pharaohs near Aswan by a joint French-Egyptian expedition utilized modern technology to document these significant findings These previously undiscovered but largely unstudied discoveries provide crucial historical insights into the rulers of the New and Late Kingdoms The underwater rock carvings depict pharaohs including Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III Psomtik II and an Apriar. Numerous other artifacts have been found submerged in the Nile River near Aswan