Lost Kingdom Of Cleopatra – Legendary Lost City Of Heracleion

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Buried beneath the deep waters lie ruins of fascinating and marvelous ancient kingdoms that today are nothing but lost memories of the past.

Franck Goddio and divers of his team are inspecting the statue of a pharaoh. The colossal statue is of red granite and measures over 5 metres. It was found close to the big temple of sunken Thonis-Heracleion and reassembled on the site. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Many advanced ancient civilizations ended due to earthquakes, tsunamis, or other natural disasters. Precious objects and ruins of ancient cities are lost in the depths of lakes, seas, and oceans worldwide.

Archaeologists know many ancient secrets at the bottom of the oceans. We can learn more about our ancestors with the help of emerging technologies that allow us to explore the depths as never before.

A sunken statue discovered underwater outside of Egypt. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history as Cleopatra, was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt.

She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period

It is commonly believed that an earthquake and tidal waves destroyed Cleopatra's empire. Scientists think that the entire city was completely submerged, along with all the artifacts, statues, columns, and other beauties of the palace of Cleopatra.

The 1,600-year-old city had been mentioned by 5th century BC historian Herodotus. He described it as an impressive city of  great wealth. Around 1,200 years ago, it vanished.

Today, these ancient statues are like forgotten memories of the past. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

A team of marine archaeologists led by Frenchman, Franck Goddio, began excavating the ancient city in 1998.

"It's a unique site in the world," said Goddio, who has spent two decades searching for shipwrecks and lost cities below the seas.

Once this was part of Cleopatra's kingdom. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

It was a great surprise to discover that several artifacts remained largely intact. Amongst the discoveries were the palace's foundations, shipwrecks, red granite columns, and statues of the goddess Isis and a sphinx.

Among the massive limestone blocks toppled in the fourth century was a huge quartzite block engraving a pharaoh. An inscription indicates it depicts Seti I, father of Ramses II.

A lion statue standing underwater.

Divers also discovered a colossal stone head believed to be of Caesarion, son of Cleopatra and previous lover Julius Caesar, and two sphinxes, one of them probably representing Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII.

Mysterious ancient figures buried beneath the water. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo: Christoph Gerigk

The Egyptian Government plans to create an underwater museum and hold site tours. We have this as an open field for archaeology," Goddio said.

It is an unforgettable underwater site for archaeologists discovering 20,000 sunken treasure objects.

Written by- Ellen Lloyd AncientPages.com

Updated on October 25, 2022

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