Discovering the ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion
In 2000, the maritime archaeologist Franck Goddio discovered the city of Thonis-Heracleion which had been hidden from sight for two thousand years.
In 2000, the pioneering underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio made one of the greatest ever submerged discoveries.
He found evidence that the remains he had found off the coast of Egypt were from Thonis-Heracleion, an ancient Egyptian port lost without trace.
Before the foundation of Alexandria, it had flourished at the mouth of the Nile between the 6th to 2nd centuries BC, a city twice the size of Pompeii.
He tells Josephine McDermott about the incredible artefacts he has found including the moment he realised he was at the foot of a five-metre tall statue of a pharaoh.
(Photo: The pharaoh statue discovered off the coast of Egypt. Credit: Christoph Gerigk, Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation)
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The lost city of Thonis-Heracleion
Duration: 00:59
Broadcasts
- Fri 17 Nov 2023 08:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Fri 17 Nov 2023 12:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Fri 17 Nov 2023 18:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Fri 17 Nov 2023 23:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 18 Nov 2023 03:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet & Europe and the Middle East only
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Witness History
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