Ali Abu Dashesh
The Dominican-Egyptian archaeological mission of the University of San Domingo, headed by Dr. Kathleen Martins, succeeded in discovering a tunnel carved into the rock at a depth of about 13 meters below the surface of the earth, during the archaeological excavation of the mission in the area of the Temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria.
Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, indicated that the tunnel is about 1,305 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 era, and the other is likely to be a statue of the Sphinx.
Dr. Kathleen Martins, head of the mission, explained that initial studies indicate that the architectural design of the discovered tunnel is very similar to the creation of the Yubilinus Tunnel in Greece which is longer than it,
She described Alexandria's tunnel as an engineering marvel.
She added that during the excavations and the archaeological survey of the tunnel, a part of the tunnel was discovered submerged under the water of the Mediterranean Sea, and several pottery pots and ceramic jars were found under the mud, in addition to a rectangular block of limestone.
Among the archaeological evidence, there is part of the foundations of the temple of Taposiris Magna submerged under seawater, which the mission is currently working to uncover.
According to scientific sources, at least 23 earthquakes hit the Egyptian coast between 320 AD and 1303 AD, which led to the collapse of part of the temple of Taposiris Magna and its sinking under the waves.
It is worth noting that during the previous excavation seasons, the Egyptian- Dominican mission was able to find many important artifacts inside the temple, including coins bearing the images and names of Queen Cleopatra IIV and Alexander the Great, and several headless statues, and statues of the goddess Isis, in addition to various inscriptions and busts of various 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, and several mummies that highlight the features of the mummification process during the Greek and Roman periods.
Translated by Ahmed Moamar
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