French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio explored the seabed off the coast of the modern city of Alexandria in Egypt and in the Bay of Abukir for ten years and discovered magnificent artefacts of Egyptian history dating from 700 to 800 A.D. These objects sank into the sea as a result of a series of natural disasters. Monumental statues as well as coins, jewellery, and cult items were located with state-of-the-art techniques and then salvaged through years of hard, painstaking work. Legendary locations such as the ancient port of Alexandria with its royal quarters, the long-lost city of Herakleion and remnants of the city of Kanopus have been rediscovered. Approximately 500 artefacts from these spectacular underwater excavations will be shown in Bonn. These objects offer insights into 1,500 years of Egyptian history from the last of the Pharaohs to Alexander the Great and the Greek rulers on the Nile up to the Roman era. Their uniqueness also reflects the prestige of the three cities, once famous centres of commerce, science, culture, and religion. Influences from Greece and Rome merged with the several-thousand-year-old culture of the Pharaohs. The result was the emergence of new religious and cultural ways of life that powerfully shaped ancient Egypt. This exhibition also provides a glimpse into the fascinating work of divers and underwater archaeologists. The exhibition “Egypt’s Sunken Treasures” celebrated its world premiere in the summer of 2006 in Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau as a great success. Over 450,000 visitors saw the exhibition in less than four months. An extension in Berlin, however, was not possible. The Art and Exhibition Hall is now offering interested parties another chance to experience “Egypt’s Sunken Treasures” up close.

The accomplishment of this unequalled scientific realisation was made possible thanks to contributions from the .