Heracleon - the ancient Egyptian city that sank off the coast of Egypt 1,200 years ago. The city was one of the most important trading centers in the Mediterranean, before he disappeared. The ruins of the lost city have been found at a depth of 9 meters in the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Alexandria. During 13 years of excavation c the discovery of the first artifacts were recovered 64 ancient wrecks and more than 700 anchors. In addition, among the finds were gold coins, weights of Athens and huge slabs with inscriptions in ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian language. The city was flooded by a series of natural disasters around the year 700 of our ery.V now researchers have a long work on the study of the archaeological sokrovischa.Po found to Director of Oxford Centre for Underwater Archaeology Damien Robinson (Damien Robinson), who was involved in removing artifacts city was one of the most important sea transport hubs of antiquity, as well as a major cultural center. Scientists do not know exactly why Heracleon sank more than a millennium ago, but suggest that the gradual rise in sea level, combined with the sudden collapse of unstable sediment led to the fact that the city fell to a depth of approximately 3.6 meters. Over time, the city had disappeared from memory, and its existence was known to only a few references in ancient texts. Also found were various religious artifacts of the sunken city, including the 5-meter stone statue, which probably adorned the central church of the city and limestone sarcophagi, in which the animals were mummified. After the removal of a layer of sand and mud divers found evidence of extraordinary wealth, which paints a picture of what life was like in Heracleon, who is believed to have been the center of Mediterranean trade more than 1,000 years ago. The team also found the remains of the legendary temple of Amun-Gereb, where Cleopatra was given authority to rule Egypt. The temple was the center point of the city. The experts have yet to discover what caused the dip of the city, but one theory is unstable geological environment, so Heracleon was built on marine sediments, which, combined with rising sea levels may have caused subsidence of the city in water to a depth of about 3, 6 meters. Only 15-20 days a year, the water in the bay is transparent. In the rest of the year due to the very large number of mud visibility was no more than twenty centimeters! Anyway yl covers all modifying form the bottom and the objects on it. Not by accident, when he was found "stone", covered with mud and shells, first passed it, and only then realized - this is the head of the ancient sculptures. Divers working in extreme conditions. They shoveled "dirt-il" an area of ​​about one hundred meters using suction pumps, equipped with filters to find any valuable not slipped into this "unit" and broke. If nothing is found, the divers went upstairs to get the next job. In the photo: The bronze lamp oil (2nd century BC), owned by the temple of Amun. In the photo: a fragment of the head of a colossal statue of red granite (5.4 meters), symbolizing the god Hapi - the god of the Nile and the patron of the harvest in Egyptian mythology. Hapi represented the annual flood of the Nile great, rich fertile silt that allowed the Egyptians to grow good crops of grain crops on the banks of this river. His name means "The only current", which implies for the Nile. Hapi was also known as "Lord of fish and wading birds," "Lord of the river bearing plants." Archaeologists raise a statue of the god Hapi, 5.4 meters in height. She decorated the main church of the city. Photo: Archaeologists have combined together podnyatnye from the bottom of the colossal fragments of the stele. Pharaoh, the Queen and God Hapi immortalized in red granite. Stele of red granite were collected from 17 fragments. It dates from the 2nd century. BC This golden object (11 x 5 cm) was found in the course of the preliminary investigation of the southern sector of the city. On a plate engraved with the Greek text of a length of 5 and a half lines. This plate served podverzhdeniem contributions in the name of the ruler Ptolemy III (246-222 BC). In the photo: a bronze statue of Osiris, who was killed and then resurrected pharaoh-god. It is adorned with a crown Atef. Typical signs of power available. His open eyes highlighted with gold leaf. Photo: Scientists raise stele Heracleon. It was commissioned by Pharaoh Nectanebo I (378-362 BC) and is virtually identical copy of the stele Naukratisa that sechas is in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. Photo: Golden vessel (Phiale), found in the sector Thonis-Heracleon. Such vessels are essentially a shallow dish used throughout the Hellenistic world for drinking and pouring libations different. Photo: Already familiar to us by God Hapi. Statue of a height of 5 meters and a half of red granite. In the photo: God Hapi. Archaeologist checks are secure before getting God to the surface. One of the surprising findings - a magnificent statue of fruits Greco-Egyptian Ptolemaic era of creativity - a statue of the Queen, made of black stone.Scientists believe that this is definitely one of the rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty, perhaps a representation of Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III, dressed in the clothes of the Goddess Isis - the goddess of femininity and motherhood.