During a methodical underwater survey off the Libyan coast, researchers identified an extensive corridor of shipwrecks lying beside an ancient port city.
The settlement had been established by Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty over two thousand years ago and functioned as a thriving harbour for centuries thereafter.
Submerged beneath the waves, the team recorded toppled columns, paved roads, and a scattering of stone anchors.
These carefully mapped features testify to a port that once handled a steady flow of maritime traffic.
The sheer density of wrecks hints at both the volume of shipping and the hazards sailors faced as they approached the harbour.
By piecing together these clues, archaeologists can reconstruct the commercial networks that once knitted together Egypt, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.
The site also illuminates how coastal cities were laid out and how their harbours operated in antiquity.
Every submerged relic adds nuance to a story that written records alone could never fully tell.