Egypt recovers new artefacts submerged in the Mediterranean

Egypt has recovered new sunken artefacts from the Mediterranean Sea near the northern city of Alexandria for the first time in nearly 25 years, officials said on Thursday.

Divers used ropes to attach four pieces to a crane, which lifted them out of the muddy water one by one. The artefacts were then placed carefully for display during a ceremony held in Alexandria's Abu Qir Bay.

The pieces include a 2.17-metre long head- and legless granite statue that is believed to belong to the Late Period or the Ptolemaic era, officials said. It is estimated to have originally been 5 metres long.

Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mohamed Ismail Khaled, said the findings are the first recovery of underwater artefacts since 2001.

They are part of an excavation project launched in 2023, when archeologists began documenting underwater structures found around 2.5 kilometres from the ancient sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion in Abu Qir Bay, said Khaled.

The site is "considered an extension of the ancient city, as structures found showed economic, burial and other aspects," Khaled told dpa.

Heracleion, which was discovered in the 1990s, is believed to have been submerged after an earthquake hit Egypt in the second century BC.

Thursday's finds are further proof the city was submerged due to an earthquake, officials said.

"The statue's body is the strongest part, unlike the legs and head which are easily broken," Khaled noted.

Archaeologists have also discovered a ship, and further details would be revealed after it is studied underwater, he added.

Egypt has been working on boosting tourism revenues, after the Suez Canal – another main source of national income – was affected by regional turmoil, as attacks prompted many vessels to avoid the waterway.

The Mediterranean country is hoping that the long-awaited official inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, set for November 1, attracts more visitors.

Last month, Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy said that Egypt recorded a 22% increase in the number of tourists during the first half of 2025, reaching 8.7 million visitors, compared to the first six months of 2024.

The country hopes to bring that number to at least 17.5 million visitors by the end of 2025.