Franck Goddio

TV Documentary on Thonis-Heracleion

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:48:00 +0200

The TV documentary Egypt's Sunken City/ A Legend Is Revealed shows the rediscovery of the ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion that submerged more than a 1,000 years ago, on Saturday, 11 May, at 8.15 pm (German)/ 8.45 pm (French) on Arte. Thonis-Heracleion was the gateway to Egypt, the obligatory port of entry and customs point during the Egyptian Late Period (664 BC until 332 BC). It was a vital node in the trading network of the eastern Mediterranean through which goods flowed into and out of Egypt. The first traces of it were found 6.5 kilometres off today’s coastline by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) under the overall direction of Franck Goddio in 2000. In cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry for Antiquities and the support of the Hilti Foundation, the team has recovered important information on the city’s ancient landmarks, such as the grand temple of god Amun and his son Khonsou and the city’s harbours. The TV documentary provides a fascinating insight into the work of underwater archaeologists and presents the most important discoveries that have been made in the last 13 years in Thonis-Heracleion. The scale and the diversity of the results has amazed experts: "The archaeological evidence is simply overwhelming," says Sir Barry Cunliffe, eminent archaeologist at Oxford University. "By lying untouched and protected by sand on the seafloor for centuries they are brilliantly preserved." Among the finds is the largest known statue of the Egyptian god of the Nile flood (Hapi) and one of the largest known concentrations of ancient ships. Additionally, there are well preserved shrines from the heart of the temple area, votive items and jewelry, coins and finely carved official inscriptions on stone documenting life in the city and exchange with other cultures. The TV documentary traces the various stages of years of painstaking survey and excavation work. Using 3D animation, the structures of the ancient city become again visible: buildings and temples, ships, piers and jetties and the channel systems are returning to the surface. But the work is far from over: "We are just at the beginning of our research," says Franck Goddio, "we will probably have to continue working for the next 200 years for Thonis-Heracleion to be fully revealed and understood." Egypt's Sunken City/ A Legend Is Revealed is a co-production by Hoferichter & Jacobs Film and Fernsehproduktion mbH with MDR in collaboration with Arte, written and directed by Jan Tenhaven.

15-17 March 2013: OCMA Conference

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:33:00 +0100

Programme

The next OCMA conference will be held at Oxford University on 15 - 17 March 2013 on the topic "Heracleion in context: The maritime economy of the Egyptian Late Period". The purpose of the symposium is to explore the maritime trading economy of the Egyptian port of Thonis-Heracleion during the Late Period and place it within the wider context of maritime trade at this time. Heracleion was the gateway to Egypt, the obligatory port of entry and customs point. It was a vital node in the trading network of the eastern Mediterranean through which goods flowed into and out of Egypt.

New book by the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:30:00 +0100

Oxford University’s Centre for Maritime Archaeology (OCMA) has published a new book on Maritime Archaeology in the Canopic Region in Egypt. The volume by Anne-Sophie von Bomhard focuses on a stele found during underwater excavations in Aboukir Bay off the coast of Egypt, at the site of ancient Thonis-Heracleion. The stele is inscribed with hieroglyphs that convey a copy of the Decree of Saïs as it relates to the redistribution of taxes raised at the important port of Thonis-Heracleion. The stele is astonishingly well preserved and served as one of the keys for the identification of the sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion with the hieroglyphs naming the place where it was set up. Furthermore, the stele is the twin of the Naukratis stele found in 1899, the difference between the two being in the name of the place where they were erected and in the fact that they were carved by two different stone masons from a single copy of the decree. The publication is the first detailed study of the stele. It gives an introduction to the discovery, as well as a description of the monument. Von Bomhard then goes on to discuss the arrangement of the texts and figures depicted on the decree, and the possible symbolism behind them. The bulk of the text is occupied by a careful translation and transliteration of the text, followed by an exhaustive bibliography and indices. The Decree of Saïs is an important document for the understanding of royal benefactions to temples and aspects of the taxation system associated with maritime trade during the Late Period when Thonis-Heracleion was the foremost port of entry in to Egypt for foreign traders. The Decree of Saïs by Anne-Sophie von Bomhard is the fifth volume in the Canopic region series of publications of the excavations by the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM) in Aboukir Bay (Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology 2012, ISBN-13: 978-1-905905-23-2, international distributor: Oxbow Books, Park End Place, Oxford, OX1 1HN, United Kingdom, P:+44 (0)1865 241249, F:+44 (0)1865 794449.

CLEOPATRA

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:00 +0200

The US west coast premiere of Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt featuring artefacts discovered by Franck Goddio and his team in cooperation with the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities is on display at the California Science Center, Los Angeles, from 23 May 2012 on. Tickets and Information

New Franck Goddio Website is Online

Fri, 18 May 2012 08:30:00 +0200

The new website of underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team is online: www.franckgoddio.org presents the latest news on his underwater archaeological projects taking place throughout the world.

The website features Goddio’s research projects in the eastern harbour of Alexandria and the sunken ancient cities Heracleion and Canopus off the coast of Egypt, as well as his work off Cuba and the Philippines, where he discovered and excavated shipwrecks of historical significance.

Photo galleries, underwater film sequences from the excavation sites, graphical reconstructions of the sunken cities, information on techniques and equipment used during the research process and updates on thematic publications and public events give an inside view of the world of underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio who has been directing archaeological expeditions in cooperation with national heritage authorities since the early 1980's. His research has been supported by the Hilti Foundation since 1996 and their shared commitment to the rigorous scientific study and publication of his work resulted in the foundation of the Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Oxford in 2003.