Traces of a 2,000-year-old submerged city are lifted from the sea by cranes hoisting statues, pieces of ruins, and artifacts from an ancient Egyptian port.

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 31/05/2026 at 11:32

Updated on 31/05/2026 at 11:33

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Cranes lifted statues from the waters of Abu Qir Bay, off the coast of Alexandria, where Egyptian authorities revealed ruins, artifacts, sphinxes, and an ancient pier linked to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods

Egypt has unveiled parts of a submerged city over 2,000 years old in Abu Qir Bay, off the coast of Alexandria, including buildings, artifacts, statues, and an ancient 125-meter pier. The site may be an extension of Canopus, an important center during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

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Submerged city may be part of ancient Canopus

Egyptian authorities reported that the archaeological site is located in the waters of Abu Qir Bay and may be linked to the ancient city of Canopus. The region was significant during the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years.

The area also remained relevant during the Roman period, which lasted about 600 years in the country. Over time, earthquakes and rising sea levels submerged the city and the neighboring port of Heracleion.

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125-meter pier reveals ancient port use

Among the finds are a merchant ship, stone anchors, and a port crane from the Ptolemaic and Roman eras.

The set was found at the site of a 125-meter pier, used as a port for small vessels until the Byzantine period.

The underwater ruins also include limestone constructions. They may have served as places of worship, residential areas, and commercial or industrial structures, according to information released by Egyptian authorities.

Cranes remove artifacts from the seabed — Image: Reproduction / Youtube

Statues and sphinxes were removed from the waters

On the occasion, cranes hoisted statues from the depths, with support from divers. The Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathi, stated that there is “a lot underwater,” but only specific materials will be removed.

Among the discoveries are statues of royal figures and sphinxes from the pre-Roman era. One of them is partially preserved and bears the cartouche of Ramses II, one of the most well-known pharaohs with the longest reign in ancient Egypt.

Part of the heritage will remain at the bottom of the sea

Many pieces are incomplete, including a decapitated Ptolemaic granite figure and the lower half of a marble portrait of a Roman noble.

Reservoirs and rock-carved lagoons were also found to store drinking water and raise fish.

Alexandria is home to ruins and historical treasures but faces risks related to rising sea levels. The coastal city sinks more than 3 mm per year, and in the best scenario predicted by the United Nations, one-third of it will be submerged or uninhabitable by 2050.

This article was prepared based on information provided in the base material about the revelation of the submerged archaeological site off the coast of Alexandria, with data, numbers, and statements preserved as per the consulted material.

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Traces of a 2,000-year-old submerged city are lifted from the sea by cranes hoisting statues, pieces of ruins, and artifacts from an ancient Egyptian port.

Cranes lifted statues from the waters of Abu Qir Bay, off the coast of Alexandria, where Egyptian authorities revealed ruins, artifacts, sphinxes, and an ancient pier linked to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods

Submerged city may be part of ancient Canopus

125-meter pier reveals ancient port use

Statues and sphinxes were removed from the waters

Part of the heritage will remain at the bottom of the sea

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Traces of a 2,000-year-old submerged city are lifted from the sea by cranes hoisting statues, pieces of ruins, and artifacts from an ancient Egyptian port.

Cranes lifted statues from the waters of Abu Qir Bay, off the coast of Alexandria, where Egyptian authorities revealed ruins, artifacts, sphinxes, and an ancient pier linked to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods

Submerged city may be part of ancient Canopus

125-meter pier reveals ancient port use

Statues and sphinxes were removed from the waters

Part of the heritage will remain at the bottom of the sea

Engineers want to carve through Africa with a giant canal to bring water from the world’s second-largest river to a dying lake on the edge of the Sahara Desert that has already lost 90% of its water.

A giant brown band visible from space, approximately 8,850 kilometers long, connected Africa to America in the Atlantic Ocean, and satellites revealed that it is neither land nor pollution, but the largest accumulation of seaweed in the world, which broke records in 2025.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

In just one cast, fishermen are surprised to capture 14,096 mullets in Bombinhas and close a historic season with 58,000 fish; scene recorded in the Santa Catarina paradise marks the last day of the 2026 season.

Consumers eat six times more chicken than in the 1960s, global meat supply quadruples in 60 years, and FAO report reveals the invisible cost on the plate: livestock could drive 80% of the increase in agricultural emissions over the next decade.

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