An ancient Egyptian pleasure boat that matches a description by the first-century Greek historian Strabo has been discovered off the coast of Alexandria, to the excitement of archaeologists.<\/p>\n
With its palaces, temples and the 130 metre-high Pharos lighthouse \u2013 one of the seven wonders of the ancient world \u2013 Alexandria had been one of the most magnificent cities in antiquity. The pleasure boat, which dates from the first half of the first century AD, was 35 metres long and constructed to hold a central pavilion with a luxuriously decorated cabin.<\/p>\n
It was discovered off the submerged island of Antirhodos, which was part of ancient Alexandria\u2019s Portus Magnus (great port).<\/p>\n
Strabo had visited the Egyptian city around 29-25BC and wrote of such boats: \u201cThese vessels are luxuriously fitted out and used by the royal court for excursions; and the crowd of revellers who go down from Alexandria by the canal to the public festivals; for every day and every night is crowded with people on the boats who play the flute and dance without restraint and with extreme licentiousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The excavations were conducted by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) under the direction of Franck Goddio<\/a>, a visiting professor in maritime archaeology at the University of Oxford.<\/p>\n He told the Guardian: \u201cIt\u2019s extremely exciting because it\u2019s the first time ever that such a boat has been discovered in Egypt \u2026 Those boats were mentioned by different ancient authors, like Strabo, and they were also represented in some iconography \u2013 for example in the Palestrina mosaic, where you see such a boat of a much smaller size with noblemen hunting hippopotamuses. But [an actual boat] has never been discovered before.\u201d<\/p>\n A map showing the location of the boat in Alexandria\u2019s Eastern Harbour<\/a><\/p>\n While that mosaic depicts perhaps a 15-metre boat, this one is far larger, judging by its well-preserved timbers, which also span a breadth of about 7 metres. It may have required more than 20 rowers.<\/p>\n It had been lying only 7 metres under the water and 1.5 metres under the sediment. Goddio\u2019s initial assumption was that there were two ships on top of one another \u201cbecause the construction type was so strange\u201d. He added: \u201cThe bow is flat \u2026 and the stern is round \u2026 to be able to navigate in very shallow water.\u201d<\/p>\n Goddio\u2019s most ambitious projects have been conducted off the coast of Egypt, in Alexandria\u2019s eastern harbour and in the Bay of Abu Qir. In partnership with Egypt\u2019s Ministry for Antiquities, he has explored a vast area since 1992.<\/p>\n In 2000, the ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion and parts of the city of Canopus were discovered in the Bay of Abu Qir \u2013 one of the greatest archaeological finds of recent times. Two colossal statues of a Ptolemaic queen and king are among spectacular treasures that have been retrieved so far.<\/p>\n