In the spring of 1992, acknowledged pioneer of modern maritime archaeology Franck Goddio (born in Casablanca in 1947 and dedicated to archaeology since the early 1980s) set out to locate the port facilities and palace quarter of the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria, founded in 331 BC. Equipped with cutting-edge sonar and nuclear magnetic resonance technology capable of detecting structures hidden deep in sediment, never before had maritime archaeologists put so much effort and technology into uncovering the mysteries of human history. Years later Goddio extended his search to include the Bay of Aboukir, where he discovered cities that had been swallowed up by the sea more than a thousand years before, along with huge temples, colossal statues and the world’s largest ancient ship cemetery to date.

Diving to the Pharaohs offers a first-hand account of this thrilling journey into the past, following Goddio’s divers on their underwater ventures. It depicts life on board a research vessel and provides exciting insights into the scientific findings. What was life like for the people of the pharaonic kingdom more than 2,000 years ago? How did they celebrate their feasts and festivals? Why did their cities vanish? These and more questions are answered in this book in the original text by accomplished science writer Jürgen Bischoff, and photos by one of the world’s most respected underwater photographers Christoph Gerigk, many of which appear here for the first time in print.