Egypt reveals 2,000-year-old ruins beneath Alexandria Bay

Egypt has unveiled underwater ruins dating back more than two millennia off Alexandria’s coast, reports AFP. The finds, in Abu Qir Bay, are thought to be part of Canopus, an important Ptolemaic and Roman centre later submerged by earthquakes and rising seas.

The discoveries include limestone buildings that may have served as temples, homes and workshops, along with reservoirs and fishponds. Divers also recovered statues of royal figures and sphinxes, among them a partially preserved sphinx bearing the cartouche of Ramses II. A 125-metre dock yielded anchors, a harbour crane and a merchant ship, evidence of an active port used into the Byzantine era.

Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathi said most artefacts remain underwater as “part of our sunken heritage,” with only selected items retrieved. Alexandria itself faces similar risks: the city is sinking more than three millimetres a year and UN projections warn that a third of it could be underwater or uninhabitable by 2050.