French archaeologist Franck Goddio was exploring the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of Egypt in 2000, in search of relics from Napoleon's warships, when he was shocked to discover something much older and more mysterious: the lost city of Heracleion, which according to ancient Greek historians had been submerged by earthquakes and floods as long ago as the 6th or 7th century.
Photo: telegraph.co.uk
As Goddio's team explored this ominous undersea kingdom, they found massive well-preserved statues (many up to 16 feet tall) embedded deep in the mud of the sea floor. These haunting giants depict major Egyptian gods such as Isis and Hapi, while others have yet to be identified, over a decade after their discovery. Not only gods are silently entombed beneath these waters, however; also found were dozens of burial sarcophagi, many containing the mummified remains of animals sacrificed to the god Amun-Gereb.
Photo: telegraph.co.uk
According to news blog Sunny Skyz (where you can see several more pictures from the dive), this discovery has helped to expand our knowledge of ancient history, thanks to well-preserved hieroglyphics inscribed on several of the submerged structures and relics.