Egypt discovers an archaeological tunnel... an "engineering miracle" 13 meters underground
On Thursday, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of an archaeological tunnel carved into the rock at a depth of 13 meters underground, west of Alexandria.
A statement by the ministry indicated that the Dominican-Egyptian archaeological mission of the University of San Domingo, headed by Dr. Kathleen Martins, succeeded in discovering the tunnel during excavations in the area of the Temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria.
Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the tunnel is about 1305 m long and about 2 m high. Two heads made of alabaster were found near the temple, one of which is for a person from the Ptolemaic period, and the other is likely to be a statue of the Sphinx.
For her part, Dr. Kathleen Martins, head of the mission, explained that the initial studies indicate that the architectural design of the discovered tunnel is very similar to the design of the Yubilinos Tunnel in Greece, but it is longer than it, describing it as an engineering miracle.
She added that during the excavations and the archaeological survey of the tunnel, a part of the tunnel was discovered submerged under the waters of the Mediterranean, and a number of pottery pots and ceramic jars were found under the muddy sediments, in addition to a rectangular block of limestone.
Martins revealed archaeological evidence confirming the presence of part of the foundations of the temple of Taposiris Magna submerged under water, where the mission is currently working to uncover it, pointing out that according to scientific sources, the Egyptian coast was hit by at least 23 earthquakes between 320 AD and 1303 AD, which led to the collapse Part of the temple of Taposiris Magna and its sinking under the waves.
This tunnel is not the first discovery of the mission, as it had previously found many important artifacts inside the temple, including coins bearing pictures and names of Queen Cleopatra and Alexander the Great, and a number of headless statues, and statues of the goddess Isis, in addition to inscriptions and statues. Halftones of different shapes and sizes.
The mission also discovered a network of tunnels extending from King Marriott Lake to the Mediterranean, 16 burials inside rock-cut tombs that were commonly used in the Greek and Roman periods, in addition to a number of mummies that highlight the features of the mummification process during the Greek and Roman periods.
Throughout the 15 years of excavations in the temple, the mission seeks to discover the tomb of Queen Cleopatra, where it believes that Cleopatra and Mark Antony were buried inside the temple of Isis and Osiris in the area of Taposiris Magna, at a site 45 kilometers west of Alexandria.
Source: websites