A Thousand Relics Found in Egypt

Travelvideo.tv ^ | Jan 28, 04 | 11:57 am | By Hazel Heyer

[vannrox]

A Thousand Relics Found in Egypt

Jan 28, 04 | 11:57 am

A French-Egyptian archaeology team has retrieved more than 1000 artifacts, including statues and busts of pharaonic gods and goddesses, from the Mediterranean Sea floor off Egypt's northern coast of Alexandria, according to the Egyptian antiquities officials earlier this week. The 2003 Abu Qir Bay Department of Archeology Mission under the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archeology unearthed artifacts during archaeological surveys which helped define the topography around the sanctuary site or the temple of Heracles. Dating back to the third and fifth centuries B.C. the finds reveal a cult that worshipped the ancient pharaonic deity Amon and his son Konshu in a bid to preserve the legitimacy of the Ptolemaic reign.

"The discovery includes tools and containers used in religious rituals," said Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, a senior official in the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Quantities of ritual basins and cult offering objects laid on the sea floor on the channel situated north of the temple site. The French mission, led by Franck Goddio, has left for Paris, Abdel Maqsoud said, and its members could not immediately be reached for comment.

"The most impressive and beautiful item is a second century AD diorite bust of an unidentified person with long hair, which some believe (could be) the Nile god, Hapy," Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, said in a statement.

"Hapy must have been the pre-dynastic name for the Nile, but in later years became the name of the god of the great river; likewise the god of fertility symbolizing abundance of water, food and annual flooding of the Nile."

Farouk Hosni, Minister of Culture declared that the location of the discovery was previously the Temple of Heracles in Herculean, the ancient sunken city discovered in May 2001 by Goddio's team. The find included busts of Egyptian deities Isis, Osiris and Bastet.

All of the artifacts have been removed to be cleaned of seaweeds and salts and to be restored, the Supreme Council's deputy said.

The French team working in Abu Qir bay in the port city of Alexandria previously has found the 2000-year-old ruins of Cleopatra's palace and the flagship of Napoleon's fleet, L'Orient, which sank Aug. 1, 1798, in a battle with the British fleet of Admiral Horatio Nelson.

At press time, Goddio has been traveling around Europe and could not be reached for further comments.

However Dr. Ashraf Sabri, owner-operator of the Alexandria Dive on the Eastern Harbor next to the Scoot Club Anfoushy in Alexandria confirmed that artifacts are still being retrieved by divers from the eight-meter depth. Sabri's team offers tourists the opportunity to visit the site through the one-day archeology diving (one dive of 45 minutes at a depth of five meters) to the Abu Qir Heracleon city and Napoleon fleet wrecks, to the Antirodos Island or the 'Cleopatra and Marc Anthony 'underwater city with side-visits to the submerged World War II fighter plane.

Additional dives include the site of the Pharos Island, the site of the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria dotted with sphinxes, obelisks, columns and amphorae found within eight meters below the surface.

[vannrox]

Very Cool. I do not know how to put this on the proper distribution lists.

[2banana]

Don't worry, now that radical islam is almost in complete control of Egypt, these statues will be destroyed as an affront to allah...

[Prodigal Son]

Now that would be a cool dive site.

[Atlantic Friend]

Very cool indeed... I sometimes have the impression Atlantis awaits for some audacious archaeological team somewhere.

[facedown]

Bump; ping; ping.

[Atlantic Friend]

Damn right. To think these statues have awaited us for so long. This team looks pretty sharp !

[7thson]

Waiting for Dirk Pitt!

[HankReardon]

Let me know when they find Noah's Ark.

[Gefreiter]

The Egyptian people didn't care for any of their cultural heritage until the French fought there in the 18th century. Among the French armies were archaeologists, who not only made critical early discoveries but appreciated their significance.

For centuries the Muslims looted the burial chambers, used the temples as quarries for other projects, used mummies for kindling, and in general had no use/concern for the history of the region.

[SkyPilot]

Is that a crustacean in your pocket, or are you just Hapy to see me?

[CJ Wolf]

yep, freeper dive trip?

[philosofy123]

Can you imagine the amount of interest, and the potential for such fantastic finds? If Egypt was Germany or England, for example, there would be millions of visitors flocking to see for themselves the ruins of our ancestors. The problem with Egypt, however, it is dominated by fanatical Islamic population. You could be safe going there, or not? The Egyptian government MUST control the radical Islamists in all its forms. The Universities, the arts, the intelligentsia, Madrasas, the Moslem brotherhood, the Jamaa Islamia, the editorial pages, Koranic edicts, the Koranic schools,...

It is with no comparison anywhere on this planet; Egypt is the most rich and fascinating historical region in the world. If they reign in their radical elements, and spend heavily in their tourist infrastructure (highways, hotels, car rentals, trains, first class restaurants…) they would earn billions from the tourist dollars. Perhaps they would even get off Uncle Sam’s dough.

[jonatron]

The international leftists and arabs are always complaining about the Israeli occuptation of Israel, saying it's "arab land" Where's the outrage about Arabs colonizing & occupying Egyptian land?? Where is the Egyptian version of Mugabe ?

[Atlantic Friend]

Only if the archaeological team has a stunning blond or pretty brunette as its leader, I suppose.

[Prodigal Son]

freeper dive trip?

You know, that's something to think about. There quite a few divers on FR.

[Gefreiter]

Yeah, I know I know. Not too many Pharaonic-types running around these days though.

There are Christians there, the Copts, who lived there long before Allah did. But the few left are marginalized, at best.

Which is fine, because they're not Muslims.

[Dog Gone]

ROFL

[blam]

Underwater bump.

[BayouCoyote]

How true.

[fish hawk]

They already found Noah's Ark. It was right where he left it.

[nmh]

Very interesting. Keep me posted!

Ever think of starting an antiquities freep list? If you do, put me on it and of course you are invited to e-mail me.

Good post!

[CJ Wolf]

I'll bring my underwater metal detector! that is if they let me on the plane with it.

[Marie]

I love the articles you post! Got a ping list?

[farmfriend]

Gods, Graves, Glyphs
List for articles regarding early civilizations , life of all forms, - dinosaurs - etc.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this ping list.

[facedown]

Wow! It's been a big day for the antiquities, and it's only noon.

Thanks for all the pings.

[farmfriend]

Wow! It's been a big day for the antiquities, and it's only noon.

You should see the pinging I did for the rights list! At least 4 times as much.

[Jimmy Valentine]

Ping for the Rosetta Stone!

[msdrby]

ping

[FairOpinion]

"Ever think of starting an antiquities freep list? If you do, put me on it and of course you are invited to e-mail me."


===

Farmfriend has such a ping list. I am on it, you may want to ask him to put you on it as well.

[farmfriend]

Farmfriend has such a ping list. I am on it, you may want to ask him to put you on it as well.

I would be happy to add anyone who would like to be pinged to archeology threads.

I'm also compiling a list of ping lists. If you know of anyone who uses ping lists, send them my way.

[tet68]

They already found Noah's Ark. It was right where he left it.

I'm still looking for Noah's Quark.
It's a lot smaller than the other one and very positive.

[BradyLS]

They already found Noah's Ark. It was right where he left it.

I'd forgotten all about that one. How did that case turn out?

[nmh]

Farmfriend has such a ping list. I am on it, you may want to ask him to put you on it as well

Thanks, I will! ;)