Shipwreck from 3rd century BC discovered northwest of Egypt

QNA

AUGUST 06, 2023 

Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of a shipwreck dating back to the third century BC, one of the sunken sites about 650 metres away in the governorate of Matrouh, northwest of Egypt.

In a statement, the Ministry explained that the discovery provided new evidence of the region's commercial, economic and tourism significance in the third century BC, which had many commercial ports.

The discovery included remnants of the ship's sunken timber and hundreds of clay monuments, the ministry said, adding that it is likely that the ship sank when it hit an island at the bottom of the sea during its commercial voyage.

According to the statement, studies conducted by the working group of the Egyptian archaeological mission revealed that this vessel shows the course of trade between Egypt and the Mediterranean countries, as the country's northern coast was home to about 30 villages, towns and ports during the Greek and Roman eras, the most important of which are the ports of Marsa Matrouh, Dhaba and Marina El Alamein. Those ports were stations on the way of ships coming from North Africa and southern Europe to Alexandria.