Underwater archaeologists announced Monday that they had discovered the 2,000-year-old wreck of an ancient Egyptian cruise ship off the coast of Alexandria. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
Divers found the hull of the ship, which was more than 35 meters long and about seven meters wide, sunk in the harbor of the island of Antirhodoswhich today is entirely below sea level, the European Institute of Underwater Archeology (IEASM) based in Alexandria, Egypt, said in a statement.
The ship contained Greek engravings that “may date from the first half of the 1st century AD” and “support the hypothesis that the ship was built in Alexandria”it is stated further in the report. Vessel “apparently had a luxuriously decorated cabin and appears to have been propelled solely by oars”the institute added. The city was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great. A series of earthquakes and tidal waves that hit its shores caused the island of Antirhodos to be completely submerged.
Over the years, divers have discovered statues, coins and other artifacts at the site, some of which are on display at the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. Alexandria is home to ancient ruins and historical treasures, but Egypt’s second-largest city is particularly vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels, with levels rising by more than three millimeters each year. According to projections by the United Nations (UN), a third of Alexandria will be completely underwater or uninhabitable by 2050.
