Imagine you're swimming one day, minding your own business among the beautiful fish, when suddenly you get the feeling that you're being watched.
You look around, horrified you'll spot an angry sea lion, but don't see anything worth worrying about. You're free floating in your scuba gear when suddenly you catch the eyes of a face — a human face.
At first, you're too scared to keep eye contact, but after a few seconds you realize its only a statue. Intrigued, you slowly kick your way closer and closer to this odd looking face. The pressure of the water gets heavier and heavier with each inch. But finally you come face-to-face with an ancient god.
This is the discovery of a lifetime, equal to the expeditions that discovered King Tut in the golden age of British world exploration. You go to alert the authorities, and they soon realize that there's more than just one statue. In fact, there's a whole lost city.
The lost city of Heracleion was one of the most important trade centers in the Mediterranean before it was swept under the sea over 1,200 years ago. The the city turned into a myth, and myth to legend, until the once thriving city was nothing more than a distant memory. That is, until by accident, in 2001 an archeologist was searching for French Warships and found a face in the sand.
Look below if you're interested in learning about one of the most amazing archeological discoveries in recent history.
And please SHARE the wisdom of the past if you think that it is important that we keep good care of these important items!
Franck Goddio and his team of divers check out the statue of an ancient pharaoh. Over 15 feet tall, this red granite piece of art is an imposing figure.
Swimming around they also came across a statue depicting the god Hapi. This god represented the seasonal flooding of the lifeblood of the Egyptian people: The river Nile, a symbol of abundance and fertility. A statue of Hapi of this size has never been discovered until now.
After careful planning, they managed to free the statue from the sea floor.
With a bit of help from our modern technologies, they managed to pull this colossal statue out of the water. Hopefully it won't cause an evil curse!
Along with huge statues, they also found intricatly small gold engravings. This plaque was found, which had the name of the king, Ptolemy III, grandson to the famous Macedonian general who served under Alexander the Great.
Along with countless other artifacts, a small statue of the god Osiris was found as well. The statue's eyes are accentuated by fine golden sheets.
Giant statues of forgotten pharaohs, hundreds of smaller statues, a sphinx, ancient warships, anchors, sarcophagi, coins, and ancient gold was found riddled throughout the sea floor.
But its what they found NEXT that brought tears to our eyes…
The stele of Heracleion: In 1899 another version of this stele was found, but who would have thought that 100 years later a twin would be found under the sea?
In perfect condition, this 7-foot-tall slab was ordered by Pharaoh Nectanebo I, demanding certain tax percentages that kept the mighty Egyptian empire on top.
Perhaps one of the finest finds was this incredible statue of a Ptolemaic queen. She is very likely the great-great-great-great-grandmother of the famous Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt.
Along with yet another pharaoh statue, its hard to believe that this city was found by accident...
All the pieces were moved into the safety of a museum, where they've been intensely studied over the past 14 years.
To think of all the hidden mysteries of the past that still remain, just waiting to be discovered.
And it really puts things into perspective. This once powerful god king was celebrated in a once powerful city. Atlantis, Illium, Rome, and Heracleion: All these cities were once considered the most powerful, but it didn't take much for them to lose that
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