Archaeologists from the University of Warsaw have discovered a concentration of shipwrecks near the ancient port of Ptolemais in northern Libya.
Ptolemais was one of the five cities that formed the Pentapolis of Cyrenaica, established by the Ptolemaic dynasty between the late 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The city emerged as a major hub for maritime trade until the Arab conquest in the 7th century AD.
Covering a stretch of over 100 metres, the large concentration of submerged material suggests that multiple shipwrecks accumulated over time as a navigational danger for ships approaching the harbour.
After a 13-year hiatus due to the Libyan civil war, Polish and local experts have conducted extensive studies of both land and underwater archaeological features, focusing on the acropolis and the submerged remains of the port.
“Over the centuries, the level of the Mediterranean Sea has risen slightly, and earthquakes have also caused the coast to erode. As a result, part of the ancient port infrastructure is now underwater,” said Bartosz Kontny – expedition leader.
“We found ancient columns, traces of submerged roads, numerous dropped anchors, and probes used to explore the seabed in antiquity. We will be examining all of this in the coming seasons”, added Kontny.
The shipwreck zone lies near a shallow rock formation, likely responsible for many of the disasters. Among the recovered artefacts were fragments of cargo such as amphorae and a bronze aequipodium – a component of a Roman balance scale shaped like a woman’s head.
On land, a separate team led by Szymon Lenarczyk identified a previously unknown road leading to the acropolis, along with possible observation towers that may have formed part of the city’s defensive network. Archaeologists also uncovered a Roman milestone bearing a Greek inscription from the Severan dynasty, dating to the early 3rd century AD.
Header Image Credit : Artur Brzóska
Sources : PAP
