2K Years Before Superyachts, Ancient Egypt Had These

Ancient Egyptian art and texts tell of wealthy elite traveling along the Nile on luxury pleasure boats known as the thalamegos, basically early versions of modern superyachts. Now, archaeologists believe they've uncovered one for the very first time. Marine archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team have documented a 35-meter-long vessel off the sunken island of Antirhodos—formerly part of Alexandria's Great Port—that "perfectly fits the iconography of those pleasure barges," Goddio tells the CBC. The early first-century AD boat made of wood, with room for about 20 rowers, includes a center pavilion that likely would've been outfitted in luxury, Goddio says.

Its flat-bottomed bow paired with a rounded stern matches ancient depictions of Nile pleasure boats, including in the famed Nile mosaic of Palestrina. The design also aligns with descriptions from Greek historian Strabo, who wrote of music-filled, crowded boats on the waterways around Alexandria. The uncovered vessel wasn't built for seafaring on the Mediterranean. Researchers suspect it shuttled between Alexandria and the religious center of Canopus like other luxury barges.

More work is needed to confirm the discovery. Goddio says there's another possibility: that the boat belonged to the Temple of Isis, located just 50 meters away, and carried a small temple "dedicated to the goddess," rather than a pavilion, per the Jerusalem Post and CBC. In that case, the vessel may have sunk after earthquakes and tsunamis devastated the temple complex around AD 50. Following UNESCO guidance, the team has left the boat in place, re-covering it with sediment after taking wood samples and comprehensive images for 3D modeling. After roughly 2,000 years on the riverbed, Goddio says, it can remain there "a few centuries" more.