Photo: The ruins of antique Canopus were located at some 2km east of the western fringe of the Nile delta, in Aboukir Bay.
The ancient Egyptian cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus sat at the mouth of the Nile for centuries until they vanished into the Mediterranean during the 8th century AD. Once thriving ports for commercial and religious activity that date back the 7th century BC. Like something out of a prophecy, the cities had disappeared without a trace until the year 2000, when they were rediscovered by French archaeologist Franck Goddio
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Under the sea, Goddio and his team discovered a hidden world that has finally reemerged in Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds, now on view at the British Museum, London, now through November 27, 2016. The exhibition features 300 objects from the excavations made over the course of twenty years, providing an incredible glimpse into a lost world. Thanks to the underwater setting, many of the objects have been wonderfully preserved, giving archaeologists incomparable insights into the art of the kings and queens who ruled Egypt for over three centuries.
Pectoral in gold, lapis lazuli and glass paste, found in Tanis in the royal tomb of the Pharaoh Sheshonk II (~ 890 BC), Egyptian Museum, Cairo JE 72171.
Although only a tiny portion of the sites have been excavated, the photographs from the digs have made their way around the world, giving us a look at history coming to the light right before out very eyes. The city of Thonis-Heracleion was named for Hercules, who was said have first set foot here when he landed in Egypt. The city was also reported to be the site of a rendezvous between Helen and Paris, helping to precipitate the Trojan War. As it returns to the surface, its long and illustrious past becomes part of our world, giving us a new way of exploring the past and understanding the future.
Colossal statue of god Hapy, Thonis-Heracleion, Aboukir Bay, Egypt (SCA 281).
Sunken Cities is a marvel to behold, featuring a selection of works that range from magnificent colossal statues to intricate gold jewelry. The exhibition also includes ritual objects dedicated to the cult of Osiris, the god of the underworld who held the promise of eternal life, as the cities are thought to be places of pilgrimage for worship. It was believed that Osiris left his temple in Heracleion and proceeded to his sanctuary at Canopus, sailing along a 3.5km canal that had also sunk into the Mediterranean when the cities collapsed.
Stele of Thonis-Heracleion, Thonis-Heracleion, Aboukir Bay, Egypt (SCA 277).
With the resurrection of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, we observe the ways in which entire histories can simply disappear only later to be unearthed. It speaks to the era in which we currently live, a period of climate change, of rising waters and floods that reclaim the land into the sea. As always with archaeology, the mystery never fully reveals itself, but rather speaks across centuries in what it leaves behind to be discovered.
All photos: ©Franck Goddio / Hilti Foundation – Photo: Christoph Gerigk.
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer, curator, and brand strategist. There is nothing she adores so much as photography and books. A small part of her wishes she had a proper library, like in the game of Clue. Then she could blaze and write soliloquies to her in and out of print loves.
