Maritime archaeology in Alexandria

[commodus]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_egypt_sunken_treasures

Interesting subject, though not a very thorough article. I'm sure there's more information out there but I haven't searched for it yet.

[Robert_Brenchley]

What do we actually know about Cleopatra's palace? The article is quite confusing; was the temple of Isis part of the palace complex, or next to it?

[commodus]

A bit more on the subject.

(I wonder where they found that actual photograph of Cleopatra used in the first article? )

http://www.examiner.com/x-31959-Chicago-Cultural-Events-Examiner~y2009m12d18-Archeologists-find-submerged-piece-of-city-Cleopatras-palace-Has-been-submerged-for-centuries


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121553687

[Robert_Brenchley]

'Toppled into the sea by earthquakes'. It's perfectly possible for land to rise or fall by several metres during a severe earthquake; when it happens underwater, it causes a tsunami. It's not a particularly seismically active area, but it's delta, which is unstable. Slight changes in sea level cause major changes in the coastline; it's easily eroded, and will be if the amount of sediment being deposited falls significantly. The weight of sediment deposited in a major delta will cause the crust below it to sink noticeably, and could cause a minor earthquake, though not one big enough to sink a city unless it triggered a major fault. It would be interesting to know more.

[PeterD]

I read somewhere recently that the Mediterranean has many times in earth's history been isolated from the Atlantic and shrunk to a small lake. In consequence the Nile, during these periods, has carved out a gorge, rather like the Grand Canyon. In more recent history, with the Mediterranean full up, the gorge has filled up with silt. Alexandria could be likened to sitting on the edge of a canyon, and liable to fall off.

[Robert_Brenchley]

It wouldn't fall off unless there was deep water for it to fall into. You're right about the Med though. Recent sediments don't hold up well in an earthquake, especially when saturated. They tend to liquidise, and I've seen pics of houses which have literally capsized, with the foundations sticking up in the air, and the roofs down in the ground. But they didn't disappear into the depths!