Having visited Egypt earlier this year, I felt a connection when I read today's wire service report datelined Alexandria about archaeologists who raised a nine-ton, 7-foot-tall pylon from the bottom of the Mediterranean (AP photo below). The massive quarried stone once was at the entrance to a Temple of Isis that is believed to have fallen into the sea following fourth-century earthquakes that also destroyed the famous Alexandria Lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Divers have discovered the remnants of a city beneath the waves.
Egypt has planned an ambitious underwater museum to showcase the sunken city.The temple and also Cleopatra's palace complex are part of this underwater realm. The pylon was part of a Ptolemaic palace where Queen Cleopatra courted wooed the Roman general Marc Antony in the first century. The lovers committed suicide after they were defeated by Augustus Caesar. Remember the asp?
The palace complex as next to the Temple Isis, a goddess of fertility and magic. These buildings are believed to have been built is at least 2,050 years ago -- perhaps much earlier. Archaeologists believe the pylon came from red granite quarried in Aswan, some 700 miles to the south. A single standing column is Alexandria also came from the Aswan area.
Some 6,000 artifacts lie beneath the sea in the harbor, with another 20,000 are elsewhere off the coastaccording to Ibrahim Darwish, who head Alexandria's underwater archaeology department. These inlcude sphinxes and pieces of what is believed to be the Alexandria Lighthouse. The pylon is the first major artifact extracted from the harbor since 2002 when removal operations were halted to prevent damage to the antiquities.
This retrieval was done with painstaking care. Dr. Zahi Hawass, who heads the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, told the media, "The tower is unique among Alexandria's antiquities. We believe it was part of the complex surrounding Cleopatra's palace. This is an important part of Alexandria's history and it brings us closer to knowing more about the ancient city." Next April, Dr. Hawass hopes to find the long-lost tomb of Antony and Cleopatra, which he believes it might be inside a temple of Osiris about 30 miles west of Alexandria.
An underwater museum, currently in the planning stages, would enable visitors to walk through underwater tunnels to see sunken artifacts. Similar underwater tunnels to view marine life exist in several cities, including San Francisco and Victoria. Such an underwater museum would be a joint project between Egypt and UNESCO. Until that happens, the Cairo Museum's display of the project gives visitors a notion of what it will be like.
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