That’s right, you read that accurately. A group of Egyptian and French explorers discovered the ruins of a military vessel as well as a funerary complex beyond anything we’ve ever seen. The crew was led by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology, and while their first aim was to merely excavate the drowned city of Heraklion from the Abu Qir Bay near Alexandria, they stumbled onto a once-in-a-lifetime find as they marvel at their findings.

The discovery was reported by none other than Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities’ chief secretary-general, Mostafa Waziry, who indicated that the find must be linked to the legendary temple of Amun that disappeared beneath the water in the second century BC.

The ship was buried deep beneath 5 meters of thick clay beneath the temple floor, which explains why it took so long to dig the site. They were able to get to the bottom of the temple thanks to their top-of-the-line digging gear and discovered the concealed riches in an instant.

One of the French archaeologists who was part of the excavation crew, Franck Goddio, remarked that this might be one of the most remarkable discoveries of all time because it is the only Punic Marsala Ship that has ever been discovered intact.

This particular ship type dates from 235 BC, and it was mostly damaged during the extended period of inundation that engulfed the site.

The boat was identifiable by its flat keel and flat bottom, both of which were unique to the brand. It may be up to 25 meters long and has a length-to-width ratio of about six to one. Overall, this is one of the better finds from this site, which is saying a lot considering how many items have been discovered here over the years.

Hopefully, owing to the new technology that the crew brought with them, further discoveries will be made at the site. We’ve known about the Thonis-Heracleion cities since 2001, but we haven’t been able to thoroughly dig them since they’re buried so deeply beneath the sea’s hard clay and rubble.

With this breakthrough, we should be able to make even more bizarre findings, maybe leading to the revelation of what truly happened at this location before everything went wild. What are your theories on the site’s demise?