Greek archaeologist unearths ancient buildings and bridge in Alexandria, Egypt

Greek archaeologist Kalliopi Papakostas has unearthed ancient buildings and a bridge in the Shalallat Gardens area in Alexandria, Egypt.

Excavations in the area had started 21 years ago and now archaeologists have discovered a long carved tunnel that sheds new light to the huge ancient building that has been found so far, Athens Macedonia News Agency reports

The 2015 findings by the Hellenic Institute for the Research of Alexandrian Culture, headed by Papakostas include a large public building from the Ptolemaic period. as well as a carved tunnel at a depth of 10 meters.

“This is a significant discovery because the site belongs to the Royal Quarters of the Ptolemae and we have informations about these buildings from the ancient times,” she told AMNA.

The Greek archaeologist added that these excavations are the result of a private initiative, as the funding of the excavations is largely based on private institutions and sponsors, the most important of which is to date the Greek company KLEOS SA and the Egyptian company Reliance Group of Companies, along with the Moheb Kassabgui Foundation.

Ancient gardens of Shallalat 

Shallalat Gardens is the name of ancient garden located in Alexandria, Egypt and occupies a big area of Al Shatby neighborhood.

Parts of the ancient Alexandria Wall are still present at the gardens until now.

Hellenic Research Institute of the Alexandrian Civilization (H.R.I.A.C) is holding an archaeological research and excavation in Shallalat Gardens, in the center of Alexandria. In the topography of the ancient city,this site was located in the Royal Quarter of the Ptolemaic dynasty. After conducting geophysical survey, three targets have been indicated and during the excavations, there is a lot of evidence of human constructions.

There are also finds of pottery, coins, mosaics etc. But the most important discovery is a unique hellenistic marble statue of Alexander the Great, which is already exhibited in the National Museum of Alexandria. (www.hriac.com)

During the spring 2012 excavation season,the research was concetrated on the exploration and documentation of a complex of glass workshop and warehouse above the area that the statue was found.

History of Alexandria

Alexandria is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it highly vulnerable to rising sea levels. Alexandria is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez as well as an important tourist destination.

Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It became an important center of the Hellenistic civilization and remained the capital of Hellenistic and Roman and Byzantine Egypt for almost 1000 years until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo). H

ellenistic Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its Great Library (the largest in the ancient world; now replaced by a modern one); and the Necropolis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.

Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

From the late 18th century, Alexandria became a major center of the international shipping industry and one of the most important trading centers in the world, both because it profited from the easy overland connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and the lucrative trade in Egyptian cotton.

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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright:The Egyptian License: CC-BY-SA