I don’t know why so many of my dreams (both the REM kind and
the daydream kind) revolve around underwater cities. You know, lost
cities.
Maybe it is the historian in me combined with the
Indiana-Jones-freak-romantic that thrives on the ocean, but these types of
things have always appealed to me.
It is a major reason why I am so fascinated by the Titanic.
So you can imagine I am over the moon about the continued
discovery underwater in Egypt
An Ancient Egyptian port city near Alexandria well-known for
its monolithic chapel.
The city is
called Thonis-Heracleion, named after the supposed
temple that was built where Herakles first arrived in Egypt.
Herakles was the last mortal son of Zeus, the strongest of all humans. You may
know him as Hercules.
Anyhow, this underwater discovery that has been
excavated for the last 13 years has proved to be a historical goldmine; they
even recovered an invaluable stele from this underwater treasure in 2001, that
provides extensive information on the city and its time.
They have discovered an honest-to-goodness ship
graveyard here.
Doesn’t this just sound like a thrilling book or
some movie about Atlantis?
I suppose what really intrigues me about these
mythical places that end up being real is how the peak of civilization can end
up in the pit of the ocean.
This city was the port of entry for all ships coming into Egypt. It was a major center or worship. It was glorious and successful, estimated to
have been founded in approximately 800 B.C., and completely submerged by 800
A.D.
Only via ancient texts and a few hieroglyphics found
on land in nearby cities preserved the memory of this lost city.
Can you imagine going for a dive a couple miles out
from shore and seeing gold sparkling up through the depths, and swimming up for
a closer look to find a giant statue of a pharaoh?
<<< This ancient bronze oil lamp makes me think of Aladdin.
Places like this really do something for my
imagination. All that I’ve read about the
downfall of this city says that several natural disasters are to blame for it
ending up deep under the water. But
how??? I want specifics here. Did the Nile flood? Did the polar ice caps melt back then? Was there a hurricane?
It makes you wonder what else is lurking in the ocean's depths, and makes me think about America’s coastal cities
being discovered submerged by generations far into the future and what they
will think of us.
And...
Which modern cities could end up under the sea:
Sea Level Change This Century:
And because I am a nerd...
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