Egypt unveils 2,000-Year-Old sunken city off Alexandria

Thursday 21 August 2025 - 15:04

By: Sahili Aya

Egypt unveils 2,000-Year-Old sunken city off Alexandria

Egypt has revealed remnants of a submerged city off the coast of Alexandria, including buildings, tombs, fish ponds, and an ancient dock, all dating back more than 2,000 years.

Authorities say the site, located in Aboukir Bay, could correspond to an extension of the ancient city of Canopus, an important center during the Ptolemaic dynasty—which ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries—and later under Roman control for about six centuries.

Over time, a series of earthquakes and rising waters submerged the city along with the nearby port of Heracleion, leaving behind a rich archaeological site.

On Thursday, cranes slowly lifted several statues to the surface as the divers who recovered them applauded from the shore. “There are many elements underwater, but what we can retrieve is limited; only selected pieces are brought up under strict criteria,” said Sherif Fathi, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. “The rest will remain part of our underwater heritage.”

The discoveries include limestone buildings used for worship, residential, or commercial purposes, as well as rock-carved reservoirs and ponds for aquaculture and domestic water storage. Notable finds include royal statues and pre-Roman sphinxes, including one partially preserved bearing the cartouche of Ramses II. Many statues are incomplete, such as a decapitated Ptolemaic granite figure or the lower part of a Roman noble carved in marble.

A merchant ship, stone anchors, and a port crane from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods were also found at a 125-meter-long dock used for small vessels during Roman and Byzantine times.

Alexandria, a site of immense archaeological value, is today threatened by the same rising waters that submerged Canopus and Heracleion. The coastal city is sinking over three millimeters per year and is among the most vulnerable to climate change and sea-level rise. Even in the most optimistic UN scenario, one-third of Alexandria could be submerged or uninhabitable by 2050.