The ancient underwater port of Alexandria still hides treasures from the times of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Divers know that the city's royal harbor once dazzled the ancient world, but every now and then something comes along that shows just how much remains underwater.
During a recent mission to the port of the Royal Island of Antirhodos, on the site of the historic Portus Magnus in Alexandria, a team from the Institute of European Archeology of Su-Mor (IEASM) discovered a remarkably well-preserved wreck dating back approximately 2,000 years.
The vessel is described as a talamagos, a pleasure barge that likely hosted prominent figures or took part in ceremonial processions in Roman Egypt.
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Well preserved luxury vessel
(Image credit: Christoph Gehrigk © Frank Goddio/Hilti Foundation)
So what does a luxury barge from the first century look like? Archaeologists found about 90 feet of preserved timber representing a ship about 115 feet long and 23 feet wide, as described in an IESM press release. Its wide beam was designed to provide a covered space where passengers could dine in style and glide along the canals of Alexandria.
The hull has a flat bottom, designed for calm inland waterways rather than the open sea. A piece of Greek graffiti carved into the central beam dates the vessel to the first half of the first century AD, just after Egypt became part of the Roman Empire.
Such pleasure barges were not uncommon among the elite: the Ptolemies were known to sail on extravagant thalamagoi, including Cleopatra VII herself, who reportedly used one to show Julius Caesar the sights of Egypt in 47 BC. These ships were floating symbols of luxury, influence, and sometimes ritual devotion.
The barge may be a ritual vessel
There are several theories about the purpose of barges. The style of construction indicates a ship built in Alexandria, with a richly decorated cabin and propelled solely by oars.
IEASM director Frank Goddio suggested in a press release that the ship may have been tied to the nearby temple of Isis on the island of Antirhodos. It may have sunk during the destruction of the temple around 50 AD, a dramatic moment in the city's history.
If so, then the barge may have been more than just a pleasure craft. Perhaps this was part same navigationGoddio described a ritual in which a decorated vessel “embodied the solar boat of Isis, mistress of the sea.” Each year, this symbolic ship “ferried” the goddess from the harbor of Alexandria to the sanctuary of Osiris at Canopus, another major port of Ancient Egypt.
The exploration of the shipwreck has only just begun, but it promises a glimpse into elite life on the waterways of early Roman Egypt, where luxury, religionand the spectacle merged organically.
The port that housed half the ancient world
This discovery also highlights the extraordinary history of the port of Alexandria. What began as a small fishing village became the glittering heart of the Ptolemaic Empire after Alexander the Great founded the city. During Roman rule, it was the largest trading center in the world, serving everything from grain supplies to the import of luxury goods.
According to Goddio in an interview with Oxford University, the IEASM under Goddio's leadership spent more than 30 years exploring the submerged remains of Portus Magnus. Their work revealed palace complexes, temples and trading docks on the island of Antirhodos and the Poseidium Peninsula – the very places where Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra once stayed.
Now, thanks to this recently found shipwreckwe get a more intimate glimpse of ancient Alexandria beyond its grand politics, showing the slow, elegant pace of life along its waterways.
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