Egypt’s Sunken Treasures reveals lost world

The great port of Alexandria was a bustling trade hub, a transit point for merchandise from throughout the ancient world, at least until much of it vanished into the Mediterranean Sea... [A]n exhibit at Paris’ Grand Palais brings together 500 ancient artifacts recovered from the area by underwater archaeologists using sophisticated nuclear technology. Egypt’s Sunken Treasures features colossuses of pink granite, a 17-tonne slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, a phalanx of crouching sphinx, pottery, amulets and gold coins and jewellery -- all painstakingly fished out of the Mediterranean. Some of the oldest artifacts are estimated to have spent 2,000 years underwater. The show, which runs through mid-March, spans more than 1,500 years of Egyptian history and traces the decline of the Pharaohs and occupations by Greeks, Romans and Byzantines... Some of the oldest pieces, such as a sphinx dating from the 13th century B.C., were brought to Egypt’s coast from other regions of the country... Egypt’s Sunken Treasures, which attracted some 450,000 visitors at its first stop, Berlin, closes March 16. After Paris, the show will return to Egypt. Authorities in Alexandria plan to build a museum of submarine archaeology to hold the artifacts as well as new items that archaeologist Goddio’s team continues to discover during its twice yearly expeditions.

A visitor views Egyptian colossus of a King, right, and a Queen made of pink granite as part of the exhibition Egypt’s Sunken Treasures presented at Paris’ Grand Palais, on Dec. 7. The show, which runs through mid-March, spans more than 1,500 years of Egyptian history and traces the decline of the Pharaohs and occupations by Greeks, Romans and Byzantines. (FRANCOIS MORI / AP)

Cleopatra's Signature Discovered
by Rossella Lorenzi
October 3, 2000
Discovery.com News
The handwriting of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra has emerged from a Greek papyrus stored for more than a century in a mummy casing in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany, a Dutch scholar claimed yesterday. "Cleopatra's signature can be found in just one word: 'genestho,' which means 'Make it so!' It is the formula for the royal authorization, and had to be added by the ruler's own hand," said Peter Van Minnen, a Dutch Academy research fellow in religious studies at the University of Groningen... Van Minnen insists the document he discovered is an original. The main text was the work of a secretary, while the subscription "genestho," written in a different hand, was signed by the queen herself. Moreover, at the top of the page, the Alexandrian office where the text was received added a note about the date they received it, around 33 B.C... "The text dates from 33 B.C. and clearly shows how Cleopatra tried to strengthen Canidius' allegiance to her. He is allowed to export (tax-free) Egyptian wheat up to 10,000 sacks and to import wine to Egypt up to 5,000 amphorae," said Van Minnen.

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