Underwater city
Was Alexander the Great in the fifth and twenty years old when he created the city of Alexandria, and the development scheme in the form of armor worn by the soldier, and began to build a city in the January 20 331 BC, but remained evolve and grow after his death in 323 BC. Because of civilization where I grew up, became a famous Alexandria center of thought and art in ancient Egypt parallels with Rome and Greece.
After a lapse of almost two thousand years, converge modern architecture and ancient streets in Alexandria, but without a trace of the legendary wonders such as the palace of Queen Cleopatra. But in 1994, discovered a team of archaeologists remnants of columns of red granite inscribed with writing hieroglyphics and a group of statues majestic, and berths rocky where he was staying Tsar, and wooden planks heavy constituted formerly berths old to load ships, all of which were submerged
under water.
Was built Alexandria in an open area on the coast of the sea separating the Mediterranean from Lake Mariot West Nile Delta, and is protected Bulsanin offshore and during the millennial year past swollen sea Alexandria between 1 and 1.5 meters while coming in at ground level about six meters, and because of tremors earth and the accompanying tsunami hit the beaches of Alexandria during the past centuries, resulting in the erosion of large tracts of land into the sea, and over time became buildings and ancient monuments hidden under coral and sediment until the archaeologist Franck Goddio campaign east of the port, and the ruins are hidden .
Search: says Guido, who has worked in the world of economics and finance for 12 years, a French national born in Casablanca, and loves sailing and the search for effects: I've always loved this city. The first concerns the effects submerged under water in the early eighties when he met Hack always head of the World Federation of diving, and called Always Guido to join him in a picnic under the water in search of a ship Napoleon, known as "Orient", which drowned the British commander Nelson in 1798, did not hesitate to Guido in accepting the invitation , but influenced by the world of the sea make it abandons the world of finance, and became fully operational in the search for underwater Archaeology, and established the European Institute of underwater Archaeology in 1985.
It uses the world of underwater archeology same techniques used in the world of effects on land, but there are many problems to make the sea requires more caution, since the movement of divers restricted tanks air which they hold, and that the length of the diving trip restricted the amount of air-borne, and communication between divers difficult because of the presence of masks on their faces.
If the divers are working in place of a depth about 15 meters, they have to stop several times during the landing so as not forming bubbles of hydrogen in their blood, a condition that can cause death, and there is a real danger that attaches diving suit antiques or equipment and should work Divers bilaterally for safety's sake.
Under the Sea: effects of underwater reserves better and buildings crumble sometimes on the ground to be built again, and while at sea they remain as they are, says Jonathan Cole of the Oxford Center for the effects of water: "This site is steeped underwater in college, so it goes no gold statues, but the buildings and household items such as ceramic pots. "
Center has been established in collaboration with the European Institute for the effects of underwater in June 2003 and Cole went to Alexandria to participate in the excavation work for two months every year.
The search process in the port spacious great challenge, and use the archaeologists technique known as "scale magnetic" to help them where reveal anomalies in the magnetic field the ground, whether natural changes or caused by human action, and when he began Judeo excavations initial underwater was a measure of magnetic non-practical, and does not depend upon, and the Egyptian authorities were very excited when they called her and told her about the Judeo explore the waters off the port of Alexandria, and was Judeo need sophisticated devices.
And explain this problem to a team of the Atomic Energy Commission French who were specialists in nuclear magnetic resonance, and the devices they used more sensitivity thousand times than those used previously, and pointed them Judeo adapting this equipment with the environment under the water, and the result was to obtain reliable information and sensitive .
By 1992 Discover Guido and his team the region and deployed in search of seven sunken ships around the world, and the furnishings were new very successful, and hair Judeo that the time is now appropriate to explore a city steeped complete an ancient Alexandria, and with the help of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt. And funded by the Hilti Foundation, "the company global business," the team began the process of exploration. Guido says: "We were very fortunate in spite of that has covered many areas of modern construction is that the port was still intact."
The mission was the first team to draw a map containing a lot of detail of the area using measurements of magnetic developer and other equipment underwater reveal the surface of the sea, and the gradual unfolding shape of the coast old, and sometimes covered with sand and sediment, and when compare Judeo maps earlier, was able to identify specific areas, and find out where the committed and the drafters of the old maps some errors. In .1994 began exploratory dive.
Guido says: "We can not forget the first dive operation in the archaeological site, fool dive toward effects. It is a distinct moment and every moment I remember it, I realized the extent of the value of the work that we have done, where we got to these effects has not seen one of us. "
The two divers usually exploration, where Aghosan twice a day, and every time lasts for two hours, and then is replaced by a new team with them, and when they go up to the roof will write a full report on the diving trip.
The influence of the Greeks in Egypt: include Alexandria a lot of influences of Greek, and it was Alexander the Supreme Commander of the Greeks and their allies, was the design of the city by the architects, the Greeks, and the language was Greek is prevailing, and the name of the city Igriqia and its inhabitants from the Greeks, and that many of the temples were dedicated to the gods of Greek, even Queen Cleopatra, which represents Egyptian society in the early days was a descendant of Ptolemy. However, the Egyptian influence seems clear and strong in the style of life in Alexandria, Guido says: "There is never a break between the two cultures in the region."
The archaeologists working on the remnants of the old port, which Ksmoh into five sections, is the ancient shoreline, where the peninsula Busadiom where experts found the remains of a temple to the god of the sea Poseidon and the western port now known as the "Silsela", and the island Antirhudos. The archaeologists are happy in particular finding on this island that was there by the royal palace of Cleopatra, which was built in 250 BC, and it was over an area of about six square kilometers, and the team discovered Judeo blocks huge red granite and two of which were carrying writing hieroglyphic , leaving nothing of Jewels of Cleopatra.
He was diving in that area very difficult not only because of the depth but because the city sewer was poured there, and forced divers to wear masks and clothing extra protect them from dirty water and toxic, and the vision was very difficult, and often it was difficult for them vision for more than twenty centimeters in front of them.
After more than ten thousand hours of diving, the draft Find Sunken Alexandria is still in its infancy. Cole says: "We need to put an accurate map, as there are a lot of areas that do not know about them little."
A number of artifacts that have been found now exists in the Museum of Alexandria, and there is a plan to create an underwater museum, where people can live the experience to see the effects in place, and in the meantime continue exploration work. Guido says: "We are looking to explore an area of about 600 hectares, covering most of the port, so the work will be to indefinitely". The effects can work lying at the sea of nearly two thousand years to wait some time to discover them.
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