Introduction
Archaeology uses scientific methodology to describe past human life. The research is conducted on material remains, such as objects, which are portable or non-portable. Artifacts, including garments, tools, and decorations, comprise archaeologists’ main portable reminders of how people lived. Non-portable materials are called features and include postholes and pyramids.
Artifacts and features generally comprise any items people used, modified, or created, and they are the only ones that can offer hints about life in ancient times or civilizations. The materials can further indicate the nature of people’s interactions, values, administration, and beliefs. The information is derived from obtainable evidence from a site where scientific sampling methods are used to scrutinize, document, classify, and analyze findings.
Archaeology has several branches, including underwater activities that study submerged artifacts and features. The study spans prehistoric and historic periods, and one of the sites discovered recently includes some pieces of the ancient city of Alexandria, Egypt. This paper aims to describe the site, its history of discovery, and its importance in understanding the past. Alexandria is preferred because it is a key center of ancient trade and business.
The Discovery of Alexandria
Alexandria derived its name from Alexander, a military ruler who conquered half of Asia. Before dying in Babylon in 323 B.C., the ruler visualized creating a municipality connecting Greece and Egypt (Rebecca, 34). Upon dying, the region officially adopted his name, which was later discovered by Napoleon, who set foot there in 1798 as he struggled to suppress Egypt (Wilkinson, 100).
However, he lost, and Alexandria was later adopted by Mohammad Ali, the new ruler of Egypt, as the main area from which he would connect with the expanding West. According to Harris and Giovanni (57), Ali was a progressive ruler who contributed to the city’s growth into a booming trade center that would, at times, serve as Egypt’s capital. The city was occupied by people worldwide, including Jews, Greeks, European enclaves, and Syrians.
The region would experience frequent tsunamis and earthquakes that weakened it, and some parts of the city started sinking. The rising sea levels submerged the once-flourishing ancient city. One major area affected is the eastern town of Heracleion, which is about 30 kilometers from Alexandria (Nantet, 56).
Archaeologists indicate that the most severe fall of the town occurred toward the end of the 2nd century B.C., following a severe flood (Wilkinson, 113). As a result, Heracleion’s monumental structures collapsed into the water. Some people opted to stay in the remaining parts during Roman rule and the start of the Arab reigns. The town was completely submerged under the Mediterranean Sea around the end of the 8th century A.D.
The British later colonized Egypt and worked with the Italians and the French to build fashionable mansions in Alexandria. The new rulers hung out in the cafés near the dockyard. However, the throwing off of colonial rule by the Egyptians to attain independence proved fatal for Alexandria. In the 1950s, President Nasser, a native Egyptian from Alexandria, rose to power, but his administration ignored the city so that it became forgotten (Rebecca, 76). With the international community gone, Alexandria was left without major activity, and the city was obscured.
Historical Context
As the government ignored the city, archaeologists also tended to avoid it as they preferred regions that could be accessed easily. They preferred to explore the rich tombs along the Nile and the temples of Greece. Harris and Giovanni (43) state that D. G. Hogarth, an English excavator, did not discover anything there in the 1890s and cautioned others.
Archaeologists became interested in studying the region in the early 1990s as Alexandria’s fortunes were restored (Rebecca, 61). New developments were coming up in the city, which prompted archaeologists to explore what lay beneath the waters in the port city. Their discovery of Alexandria was started by leading modern-day archaeologists, Empereur and Franck Goddio. The two individuals are renowned for their work in archaeology and share numerous controversies.
Empereur developed a great interest in exploring the waters in Alexandria. (Ford et al., 33) This indicates that he was particularly interested in discovering a monumental sculpture that the Egyptian Navy erected in the 1960s. He joined an Egyptian crew recording a documentary film for a swim near the 15th-century fort of Qaitbay Citadel (Rebecca, 74).
The event was challenging for the adventure due to poor visibility occasioned by the murky waters in the area. The experience was worsened by many concrete blocks thrown into the sea to shield Qaitbay. The crew found accessing underwater archaeological artifacts challenging, as people wondered whether they existed.
However, following a series of excavations, parts of the ancient city of Alexandria began to emerge a few meters beneath the sea. Successive excavations led to the discovery of about 3,500 artifacts and features (Harris and Giovanni, 52). Items discovered below in the waters include column bases, obelisks, sphinxes, capitals, and colossal sculptures that show attributes involving Egyptian, Roman, and Greek styles. The pieces are connected to notable structures at the time, including the Pharos or lighthouse of Alexandria.
Goddio focused his exploration activities in the eastern part of Alexandria’s harbor, opposite the citadel. He has accumulated vast experience in diving and traveled widely around the world. He has made discoveries, including shipwrecks, in various parts of the world, such as Spain and France.
Around 14 years ago, Goddio, while working alongside other archaeologists, discovered key items in Alexandria, including a finger from a bronze statue measuring about 13 feet tall (Ford et al., 32). At the same time, they discovered remnants of a monumental tower estimated to be 230 feet wide and 328 feet long (Ford et al., 33). The discoveries encouraged Goddio to continue exploring the area, which led to more discoveries.
Goddio is generally credited with discovering Heracleion about two decades ago. The European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM), the Hilti Foundation, and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities supported the work. Heracleion is considered a significant port city in Egypt, especially during the 12th century B.C., which shared much time with Ancient Greece (Robinson and Franck, 82).
The site where the city was discovered covers an area of nearly 400 acres (Nantet, 17). Electronic surveys facilitated the process leading up to the discovery of Heracleion to develop a detailed outline of the harbor floor. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnetometers and selective mechanical soundings facilitated the discovery of archaeological material buried under the sediment.
Alexandria’s Importance for Understanding the Past and Culture
The significant contribution of Alexandria is to confirm the eminence of Egypt as the center of monumental archaeology. It helps to promote future archaeology by proving that, regardless of the complexities experienced in the discovery journey, people can celebrate the outcomes. The discovery of Alexandria helps to grow art and architecture by digging up monuments and analyzing them for the benefit of future generations.
The discovery in Alexandria proves that Hogarth was mistaken as an emperor, and other scientists dig up amazing antiques and rediscover the economic power, architectural sublimity, and scholarly preeminence of an urban center that was among the top in ancient Rome.
For instance, the Pharos is a key fixture of the times as it embodies a 440-foot-tall lighthouse from where ships were securely guided into the Great Harbour for many years (Ford et al., 33). It now stands as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Another important discovery is a university complex considered the world’s oldest educational structure. Such successes have encouraged researchers to swim into the waters in search of items that would continue to affirm Alexandria’s position as a key archeological site carrying a rich history of the ancient world.
Furthermore, monumental archaeology in Egypt provides evidence of the ancient culture. The artifacts and features discovered under the water in Alexandria provide a remarkable understanding of the extent and magnitude of the culture of the people who built the city. Alexandria has been confirmed to be a critical pathway and business center in the Greek world and the Hellenistic period.
In addition, the discovery of the Library of Alexandria shows the importance of education at the time. The rulers of Hellenistic Egypt set up the library to keep numerous manuscripts collected from around the world (Robinson and Franck, 48). As time passed, the city became the cultural center of the Hellenistic world as it played a key role in shaping the lives of the aristocracies and other city-dwellers. Westerners and Easterners often met and exchanged opinions on key topics, including arts, science, religion, and philosophy.
Alexandria’s underwater archaeology underscores the struggle that archaeologists often endure to uncover huge structures that represent investments made by society. For instance, the discovery has revealed that Alexandria was well developed by having a sophisticated water system that few cities in the medieval or ancient world developed (Harris and Giovanni, 28). The city was stated to be hollow beneath the magnificent buildings and beautiful streets, and these archeological items have survived. It has grown Egypt’s profile to include maritime archaeology by uncovering its potential for further exploration and research. Thanks to the discovery, the Underwater Cultural Heritage and Alexandria Centre for Maritime Archaeology have enhanced schooling and training in maritime and underwater archaeology by integrating the same into the teaching curriculum.
Conclusion
Alexandria may have been ignored, but it has become a key center for modern archeological work. The city was once lively, marked as the connecting center of people from the East and West. The city gained prominence in archeology in the last three decades following modern building developments, raising the need to know what lies beneath.
Empereur and Goddio have continued their archeological work by making key discoveries, such as the Pharos and the eastern city of Heracleion. Alexandria has played a key role in showing the culture of ancient people as they conducted business and improved their knowledge through learning and sharing of experiences. The city continues to emerge as the center of monumental archaeology despite the challenges involved in underwater discovery.
Works Cited
Ford, Ben, et al. Our Blue Planet: An Introduction to Maritime and Underwater Archaeology. Oxford University Press, 2020.
Harris, William V., and Giovanni Ruffini. Ancient Alexandria between Egypt and Greece. Brill, 2021.
Nantet, Emmanuel. Sailing from Polis to Empire: Ships in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic Period. Open Book Publishers, 2020.
Rebecca. The Cairo Genizah and the Age of Discovery in Egypt. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.
Robinson, Damian, and Franck Goddio. “A Port at the Edge of the Sea of the Greeks: Hellenism in Thonis? Heracleion, Egypt.” Revue Archéologique, vol. 68, no. 2, 2019, p. 435. Web.
Wilkinson, Toby. World beneath the Sands: Adventurers and Archaeologists in the Golden Age of Egyptology. Picador, 2021.