Shipwrecks Found Near Ancient Port City Off Libyan Coast

WARSAW, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that several shipwrecks have been found off the coast of Libya, near a shallow rock formation at the ancient Greek port of Ptolemais. The city was founded by Egypt’s Ptolemaic Dynasty between the late fourth and third centuries B.C., and remained an active port until the seventh century A.D. “This is a place where disasters must have occurred periodically,” said Piotr Jaworski of the University of Warsaw. He and Bartosz Kontny were conducting an underwater survey when they saw the 300-foot-long stretch of shipwrecks. “Over the centuries, the level of the Mediterranean Sea has risen slightly, and earthquakes also caused the coast to erode,” Kontny said. “As a result, part of the ancient port infrastructure is now underwater.” The survey also identified columns, roads, anchors, and probes that were used to explore the seabed in antiquity, he added. On land, the team of Polish and Libyan researchers discovered a road that led to the city’s acropolis, traces of observation towers, and a third-century A.D. Roman milestone with a Greek inscription. To read about submerged remnants of an ancient port city at the mouth of the Nile, go to "Egypt's Temple Town."