Heracleion and Cleopatra's Palace

Heracleion was the ancient port of Egypt during pharaonic and Roman times. At the mouth of the Nile, it would have been an important trading city and commercial centre as well as a point of contact between other Mediterranean cultures and Egypt's interior. The city was established some time in the 12th century BC and it rose to prominence towards the end of the pharaonic period. The city was re-discovered in 2000 by a team of French archaeologists led by Franck Goddio. They have discovered the site of Cleopatra's palace nearby, as well as an important granite stele and colossal statues. The port city survived the roman empire and was still inhabited during the early Byzantine era. It was destroyed in the eighth century AD by earthquakes and floods, which submerged the entire city in the Mediterranean.