Ancient Egyptian City Discovered at Bottom of Mediterranean Sea

You've heard of the legend of Atlantis, a lost island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean mentioned in the writings of Plato. But now, thanks to an underwater archaeologist, a real lost city has been discovered. Frank Goddio unearthed a 1,600-year-old city originally called Heracleion by the Greeks but named Thonis by the ancient Egyptians. About 1,200 years ago, the city vanished. For the past 13 years, Goddio and his team from the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology searched for the forgotten city. And then they found it, 30 feet under the Mediterranean Sea, four miles off the coast of Alexandria in Egypt.

Goddio and his team have begun bringing the remains of the ancient city to the surface, piecing together the story of Thonis/Heracleion. So far, some of the artifacts found during the excavation — such as gold coins, stone ledgers, and weights — support the theory that it was a port city bustling with commerce and transactions. Goddio's revelation is being called one of the most important discoveries of the 21^st century. The mystery of just what caused the city of Thonis/Heracleion to sink still remains. A representative for Goddio told Yahoo! News that research about the city will probably continue for the next 200 years in order for it to be fully revealed and understood.