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British Museum to open major exhibition on underwater archaeology
Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds, which opens next May, will be the British Museum’s first show focussing on underwater archaeology.
Vanished beneath the waters of the Mediterranean, the lost cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus lay at the mouth of the Nile. Named after the Greek hero Heracles, Thonis-Heracleion was one of Egypt’s most important commercial centres for trade with the Mediterranean world and, with Canopus, was a major centre for the worship of the Egyptian gods. Their amazing discovery is transforming our understanding of the deep connections between the great ancient civilisations of Egypt and Greece.
Over the last 20 years, world-renowned archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team have excavated spectacular underwater discoveries using the latest technologies. They will be seen alongside fascinating objects from major Egyptian museums for the first time in the UK.
A version of the exhibition is currently at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (until 31 January) and it will later go on to the Museum Rietberg in Zurich (2017). Whereas the Paris and Zurich shows centre primarily on the god of the afterlife, Osiris, the London presentation will stress Egypt’s links with Greece.