FRUIT BASKETS FROM THE 4TH CENTURY BC DISCOVERED

            

Fruit baskets with fruit inside that are more than 2.000 year-old were  discovered this week at the ruins of Thonis Herakleion the lost ancient Greek city near Alexandria, Egypt.

 

The city was once the epicenter of the Mediterranean trade routes in the Hellenic era, sunk beneath the waves, during the 2^nd century BC as a result of earthquakes and tidal waves that liquified the ground underneath it.

Franck Goddio 

Imposing temples, such as the one dedicated to Amon or Hercules fell into the water and laid untouched there until the year 2.000 when the French diver Franck Goddio discovered them and brought many of them to the surface.

 

Apparently, after an earthquake and stones fell and trapped a ship and its cargo in clay at the bottom of the sea.   This ensured that spectacular discoveries, such as Goddio’s recent find of a Greek wooden ship, would be protected by the ravages of time.

But no one expected to discover an intact basket with fruit 2.000 years later.

 

The wooden vessel, along with hundreds of ancient ceramic vases and amphorae as long as bronze works of art have been recently discovered in the waters containing the remains of the legendary city of Thonis Herakleion off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. The ship had been moored at the wharf in the canal that flowed  along the south part of the temple when the disaster occurred.  The fallen blocks actually protected this ancient Greek shipwreck by pinning it to the bottom of the deep canal which was then filled with clay and debris of the sanctuary.  The shipwreck lies under 5 metres (15 feet) of had clay and the remains of the temple.

 

The remains of the city sunk further into the clay bottom of the sea in the 8^th century AD, following a further national disaster, including additional earthquakes and tidal waves.

 

The city served as Egypt’s largest port of the Mediterranean Sea before Alexander the Great found Alexandria in the year 331 BC, with the intention of that city becoming the capital.

 

One of the greatest archaeological finds in recent times was made in 1999 and 2000 when Goddio discovered and brought to the surface the monuments of the ancient Greek city, which had been lying for more than 2.000  years in only 30 feet of water.

Many of the massive statues belonging to the temple of Amon/Herakles were nearly in perfect condition,  Some of the treasures he brought to the surface were shown at an exhibition at London’s British Museum in 2016.

 

Goddio, long used to  finding hordes of archaeological treasures in the lost city of Herakleio expressed complete amazement at his latest find telling the Guardian that the fruit baskets found recently were “incredible” as they had been untouched for more than 2.000 years.

 

The most stunning discovery of all the baskets which were still full of doum, the fruit of the African palm tree that was sacred to ancient Egyptians. Additionally, grape seeds were found which were used to make oil by pressing.

 

“Nothing was disturbed,” he told the reporter.  “It was very striking to see the basket with the fruit.”

 

“As for the Greek pottery found several weeks ago, the baskets may have a connection with funeral rites,” Goddio added.

 

Greeks have been allowed to settle in the area during the late Pharaonic period as they were well known for their skills as merchants and traders.  They were even allowed to construct temples like the one dedicated to the god Amun/Herakles

 

“On that island, we found hundreds of imported red and black ceramic figurines of the Attic period.”

Not only the spectacular Attic vases and amphorae, but mirrors and quantities of statuettes were found as well.

 

Fascinatingly, Goddio also discovered extensive evidence of burning, which he believes suggests that there had been a “spectacular” ceremony that actually barred anyone from entering the site.

 

It appears to be sealed for hundreds of years as none of the artifacts found were from later than the early 4^th century, even though the city lived for several hundred years.

 

“There is something very strange here,” he said.  “The site has been used only one time, never touched after for a reason that we cannot understand for the time being.  It is a great mystery.”    

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