Scientists have discovered the wreck of an ancient Egyptian pleasure boat—estimated to have been some 115 feet long and 23 feet wide—submerged in an ancient port complex off of the coast of Alexandria.
Led by archaeologist Franck Goddio, excavations undertaken by the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM) revealed preserved timbers, some 92 feet long, bearing graffiti in Greek dated back to the the first half of the 1st century A.D.
The pleasure barge—a “thalamagos”—would have been wide enough to accomodate a central cabin; the researchers also believe that the vessel sported a flat-bottomed hull.
“She would have had a luxuriously decorated cabin and seems to have been propelled only by oars,” the IEASM said in a statement.
The wreck was found in the port of the island of Antirhodos, itself lying within Alexandria’s “Portus Magnus”. Antirhodos’ royal quarter is thought to have played host to prominent historical figures including Queen Cleopatra and her lover, the Roman general Mark Anthony.
While research on the latest shipwreck find is still at an early stage, it offers a fascinating glimpse into “life, religion, luxury and pleasure on the waterways of early Roman Egypt,” the IEASM noted.
According to Goddio, “This intriguing shipwreck could have been used along the canals in Alexandria…but as it was also found very close to our excavations on the temple of Isis on Antirhodos Island, it could well have sunk during the catastrophic destruction of this temple around 50 AD, taking into account its dating.”
The archaeologist also suggested the boat may have been used for rituals. “It could have belonged to the sanctuary and be part of the naval ceremony of the navigation iside when a procession celebrating Isis encountered a richly decorated vessel -the Navigium – which embodied the solar barque of Isis, mistress of the sea,” Goddio continued.
“This vessel was performing a yearly ritual voyage of the goddess from the Portus Magnus of Alexandria to the sanctuary of Osiris at Canopus alongside the Canopic Channel.”
The most well-known of such pleasure barges were the giant floating palaces of the Ptolemies, including that of Cleopatra VII, which she used to show Julius Caesar the sights of Egypt in the spring of 47 BC.
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Reference
Goddio, F. (2024). The Iseum of the Royal Island of Antirhodos. Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology.