In Search of Cleopatra
Globetrotting - Alexandria, Egypt
by Joseph Schmitt
With over 5,000 years of recorded history, just about any point in the sand from the Nile Delta to the southern reaches of the Aswan Province can yield a lucky archeologist an important discovery. As I learned on a recent journey to Egypt, however, some of the most fascinating finds of our lifetime are being unearthed from long-lost locations hidden from view under the ocean floor. Admittedly, I didn’t test well in Roman/Grecian/Egyptian history; I was more interested in their styles of dress than specific dates and locations. While my knowledge of Cleopatra was limited to Liz Taylor’s portrayal, my interest in Alexandria goes back to a youthful obsession.Following Alexander the Great’s conquest of ancient Egypt, he resolved to build a large fortress city for future operations in Egypt. On a sliver of coast to the west of the Nile Delta, he found a small port village that would serve his military needs. While Alexander did not live to see the completion of his namesake city, Alexandria quickly became one of the largest and most magnificent cities in antiquity and served as Egypt’s capital for more than 1,000 years. For nearly 300 years following Alexander’s death, the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt from this municipality, blending Greek culture with traditional Egyptian religion and customs.
Some of the biggest names of the time visited or lived in Alexandria, like Mark Antony and Julius Caesar, and of course, the crafty queen we have immortalized in movies, story, and song, Cleopatra. Even to this day, her name is synonymous with power, beauty, struggle, and defeat. At 39, conquered by the emerging Roman Empire, Cleopatra famously took her own life. A long and prestigious line of powerful rulers, gods and all, came crashing to the ground on that August afternoon, some thirty years before Christ.
Cleopatra’s palaces and temples were ransacked, her personal items tossed into the murky waters of Portus Magnus, where she had lived and ruled, presumably never to be seen again. Cleopatra has remained an enigmatic icon for multiple reasons, not the least of which was the cleansing of her name from Egyptian culture and history at the hands of the victorious Romans. Throughout the Middle East, cities have been built on top of cities, leaving archaeologists with ever-shrinking ground in which to dig. While this is also true for Alexandria, there’s one special section of the ancient city that has been left undisturbed by modern development, the port waters of Portus Magnus, home to Cleopatra’s Royal Quarters.
With a smattering of small islands, Portus Magnus during antiquity was home to magnificent royal palaces and temples to Egyptian gods that dominated the skyline, with large man-made dykes and piers creating multiple access points within the naturally protected larger port. The fabled Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, served to protect this once mighty city. Massive earthquakes and ensuing tsu namis, however, forever changed the landscape of Alexandria and Portus Magnus. Seemingly gone forever, these storied structures and artifacts became something of a myth over the 1,600-plus years since their disappearance, taking with them their secrets and revelations to a shallow, underwater grave.
For centuries, archaeologists tried to discover this legendary city, but it wasn’t until 1992 that an underwater archaeologist named Franck Goddio and his team made the discovery of a lifetime. After extensive research, detailed topographical surveys, and careful excavations in Alexandria’s Eastern Harbour, Goddio presented his unique discoveries and the new map of the ancient Portus Magnus of Alexandria for the first time to the public in 1996. Since then, Goddio and his team have undertaken the slow and arduous task of raising this ancient city from its hiding place.
During my visit to Alexandria this past year, I had the good fortune to meet Franck Goddio and his team onboard their research vessel in the historic waters of Portus Magnus. It’s intimidating enough to meet the most successful marine archaeologist in the world, but there’s an added sense of sublime amazement in floating over Cleopatra’s sunken palace with the man who discovered it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, from the daily operations of an underwater excavation to the personalities who are lured to this unique line of work. I was quite relieved, however, to find a ship full of well-behaved, professional-looking kids. While not kids in the literal sense of the word, with ages ranging from 20-something to over-fifty, everyone had a visible lightness to them, and the intrinsic curiosity needed by any explorer.
I toured the massive research vessel, docked only 100 yards off shore, with Goddio, a jovial Frenchman with an authentic smile and charming accent. He took great pride in showing me recently unearthed pottery and stoneware, even a small statuette from the Hellenistic period, unseen by human eyes for over 1,600 years. Other smaller finds, like jewelry and amulets, were all very important to him. He seemed sensitive to the fact that these were all significant pieces at the time, made and used by real people with real histories.
While the life of an underwater explorer is oftentimes fascinating and rewarding, I came to see during my visit that it could also be tedious and monotonous. What seemed to motivate everyone, from the divers and restorers to the galley workers, was the importance of their work and their tight familial bond. Still, the task is almost unimaginable. These items are covered by ever-shifting sand, sometimes more than ten feet deep. The port waters are choppy and murky, unforgiving to a diver who struggles to maintain his position for hours at a time in only twenty feet of water. Even when the archaeologists think they have an important find, it’s impossible for them to see the entire piece, with near zero visibility. A diver can spend nearly the entire six weeks during a bi-annual dig in the same location, digging in the sand.
It took many centuries to find this sunken city, and considering Goddio and his team have only been digging for less than 20 years, their results are impressive. While divers sift their way through repeated two-hour dives, there is plentiful work being done onboard. Each item requires registration with an onboard Egyptian Antiquities official, as well as extensive historical research and a lengthy restoration process.
The artifacts I saw on deck were still in water baths, undergoing a detailed pro cess to desalinate the objects and acclimate them once again to dry land. It takes a large team, including Americans, French, Egyptians, and Russians, working in synchronicity to pull up even the smallest of objects, and not all of the objects are small. Some larger finds like massive stone blocks, colossal statues, and sphinxes require barges to be brought in.
When these underwater treasures are discovered and pulled from the seabed, the work has just begun. Egyptologists must then connect the finds with historical records and link them to other sites, weaving a seemingly endless story, which is then shared with the world in museums, exhibits, and scholarly texts.
by Joseph Schmitt
With over 5,000 years of recorded history, just about any point in the sand from the Nile Delta to the southern reaches of the Aswan Province can yield a lucky archeologist an important discovery. As I learned on a recent journey to Egypt, however, some of the most fascinating finds of our lifetime are being unearthed from long-lost locations hidden from view under the ocean floor. Admittedly, I didn’t test well in Roman/Grecian/Egyptian history; I was more interested in their styles of dress than specific dates and locations. While my knowledge of Cleopatra was limited to Liz Taylor’s portrayal, my interest in Alexandria goes back to a youthful obsession.Following Alexander the Great’s conquest of ancient Egypt, he resolved to build a large fortress city for future operations in Egypt. On a sliver of coast to the west of the Nile Delta, he found a small port village that would serve his military needs. While Alexander did not live to see the completion of his namesake city, Alexandria quickly became one of the largest and most magnificent cities in antiquity and served as Egypt’s capital for more than 1,000 years. For nearly 300 years following Alexander’s death, the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt from this municipality, blending Greek culture with traditional Egyptian religion and customs.
Some of the biggest names of the time visited or lived in Alexandria, like Mark Antony and Julius Caesar, and of course, the crafty queen we have immortalized in movies, story, and song, Cleopatra. Even to this day, her name is synonymous with power, beauty, struggle, and defeat. At 39, conquered by the emerging Roman Empire, Cleopatra famously took her own life. A long and prestigious line of powerful rulers, gods and all, came crashing to the ground on that August afternoon, some thirty years before Christ.
Cleopatra’s palaces and temples were ransacked, her personal items tossed into the murky waters of Portus Magnus, where she had lived and ruled, presumably never to be seen again. Cleopatra has remained an enigmatic icon for multiple reasons, not the least of which was the cleansing of her name from Egyptian culture and history at the hands of the victorious Romans. Throughout the Middle East, cities have been built on top of cities, leaving archaeologists with ever-shrinking ground in which to dig. While this is also true for Alexandria, there’s one special section of the ancient city that has been left undisturbed by modern development, the port waters of Portus Magnus, home to Cleopatra’s Royal Quarters.
With a smattering of small islands, Portus Magnus during antiquity was home to magnificent royal palaces and temples to Egyptian gods that dominated the skyline, with large man-made dykes and piers creating multiple access points within the naturally protected larger port. The fabled Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, served to protect this once mighty city. Massive earthquakes and ensuing tsu namis, however, forever changed the landscape of Alexandria and Portus Magnus. Seemingly gone forever, these storied structures and artifacts became something of a myth over the 1,600-plus years since their disappearance, taking with them their secrets and revelations to a shallow, underwater grave.
For centuries, archaeologists tried to discover this legendary city, but it wasn’t until 1992 that an underwater archaeologist named Franck Goddio and his team made the discovery of a lifetime. After extensive research, detailed topographical surveys, and careful excavations in Alexandria’s Eastern Harbour, Goddio presented his unique discoveries and the new map of the ancient Portus Magnus of Alexandria for the first time to the public in 1996. Since then, Goddio and his team have undertaken the slow and arduous task of raising this ancient city from its hiding place.
During my visit to Alexandria this past year, I had the good fortune to meet Franck Goddio and his team onboard their research vessel in the historic waters of Portus Magnus. It’s intimidating enough to meet the most successful marine archaeologist in the world, but there’s an added sense of sublime amazement in floating over Cleopatra’s sunken palace with the man who discovered it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, from the daily operations of an underwater excavation to the personalities who are lured to this unique line of work. I was quite relieved, however, to find a ship full of well-behaved, professional-looking kids. While not kids in the literal sense of the word, with ages ranging from 20-something to over-fifty, everyone had a visible lightness to them, and the intrinsic curiosity needed by any explorer.
I toured the massive research vessel, docked only 100 yards off shore, with Goddio, a jovial Frenchman with an authentic smile and charming accent. He took great pride in showing me recently unearthed pottery and stoneware, even a small statuette from the Hellenistic period, unseen by human eyes for over 1,600 years. Other smaller finds, like jewelry and amulets, were all very important to him. He seemed sensitive to the fact that these were all significant pieces at the time, made and used by real people with real histories.
While the life of an underwater explorer is oftentimes fascinating and rewarding, I came to see during my visit that it could also be tedious and monotonous. What seemed to motivate everyone, from the divers and restorers to the galley workers, was the importance of their work and their tight familial bond. Still, the task is almost unimaginable. These items are covered by ever-shifting sand, sometimes more than ten feet deep. The port waters are choppy and murky, unforgiving to a diver who struggles to maintain his position for hours at a time in only twenty feet of water. Even when the archaeologists think they have an important find, it’s impossible for them to see the entire piece, with near zero visibility. A diver can spend nearly the entire six weeks during a bi-annual dig in the same location, digging in the sand.
It took many centuries to find this sunken city, and considering Goddio and his team have only been digging for less than 20 years, their results are impressive. While divers sift their way through repeated two-hour dives, there is plentiful work being done onboard. Each item requires registration with an onboard Egyptian Antiquities official, as well as extensive historical research and a lengthy restoration process.
The artifacts I saw on deck were still in water baths, undergoing a detailed pro cess to desalinate the objects and acclimate them once again to dry land. It takes a large team, including Americans, French, Egyptians, and Russians, working in synchronicity to pull up even the smallest of objects, and not all of the objects are small. Some larger finds like massive stone blocks, colossal statues, and sphinxes require barges to be brought in.
When these underwater treasures are discovered and pulled from the seabed, the work has just begun. Egyptologists must then connect the finds with historical records and link them to other sites, weaving a seemingly endless story, which is then shared with the world in museums, exhibits, and scholarly texts.
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