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Geological team uncovers evidence of a hidden city

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 27, 2007

CAIRO - Alexander the Great founded Alexandria to immortalize his name, but his was apparently not the first city on the famed site on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.

A Smithsonian team has uncovered underwater evidence pointing to an urban settlement at the site dating back seven centuries before Alexander showed up in 331 B.C.

Alexandria has long been a source of intrigue and wonder, but little was known about the site in pre-Alexander times other than Rhakotis, a fishing village that was located there.

Coastal geoarchaeologist Jean-Daniel Stanley of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History said his team's work suggested a much larger community at Rhakotis than had previously been believed.

The discoveries came by accident when his team drilled underwater in Alexandria's harbor, Stanley said. Scientists extracted 3-inch-wide sticks of core sediment 18 feet long under the seabed to try to understand what happened to cause later structures to become submerged.

When his team opened the cores, they saw ceramic fragments that reflected human activity. Then, more rock fragments, ceramic shards from Middle and Upper Egypt, organic matter, plant matter and heavy minerals were found. Radiocarbon dating showed the items to be from around 1000 B.C.

The scientists then analyzed the concentration of lead isotopes in the cores and saw that they came from around 3,000 years ago.

"This was proof that there was significant metallurgy and human activity going on back 1,000 years B.C.," Stanley said. "Alexandria did not just grow out from a barren desert, but was built atop an active town."

[Last modified July 27, 2007, 01:55:31]