Treasures found in 2200-year-old shipwreck at Egyptian Atlantis

Treasures still being found at Egypt's sunken city. Photo / The Hilti Foundation via Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiques

Archaeologists have come across a 2200-year-old shipwreck buried in the bottom of the Mediterranean sea.

The wreck of a military vessel was found underneath the ancient city of Heracleion (also known as Thonis), which fell into the sea after it was destroyed by earthquakes in the second century BC.

Along with the remains of a funerary area, the 25m-long shipwreck was noted as being a common boat for navigating the Nile River.

The incredible find in the ocean. Photo / Frank Goddio, Hilti Foundation via Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiques

"[The ship sunk] as a result of the collapse of the temple and huge blocks falling on it during the second century BC, due to a devastating earthquake. The fall of these stone blocks contributed to keeping the ship down the deep canal now filled with temple debris," a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said.

The wreck was found by archaeologists under 5m of clay and debris along with a burial site which was covered in a pile of rocks.

Egyptian treasures from two millennia ago. Photo / Frank Goddio, Hilti Foundation via Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiques

It was discovered using a type of sonar by an Egyptian-French mission led by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM).

"This discovery beautifully illustrates the presence of the Greek merchants who lived in that city," the Ministry told Reuters.

A gold relief of the fertility god Bes, uncovered from the Wreck. Photo / Frank Goddio, Hilti Foundation

"They built their own sanctuaries close to the huge temple of Amun. Those were destroyed, simultaneously and their remains are found mixed with those of the Egyptian temple."

The Egyptian Atlantis

The city of Heracleion, which is where the Cleopatra was inaugurated, was said to be one of the most important trade centres in the Mediterranean before it disappeared into what is now the Bay of Aboukir.

Egyptian Atlantis in modern day Abu Qir Bay. Photo / Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiques

Heracleion, which sat off Egypt's north coast, slumped into the sea some 2200 years ago and was lost for thousands of years until divers stumbled upon its remains in 2000.

In 2019, a mysterious temple was discovered among the ruins of an ancient sunken city described as the "Egyptian Atlantis".

Studies of its sprawling ruins have been ongoing ever since, though we still don't know much about the once-great port town.