The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Tuesday an important archaeological discovery of the temple of the "goddess Aphrodite” in the sunken city of Thonis Heracleion, which was built 2,400 years ago.

In a statement, the ministry stated that the joint Egyptian-French archaeological mission between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute of Marine Archeology uncovered a temple to the "goddess Aphrodite” from the fifth century BC during underwater excavations in the sunken city of Thonis Heracleion in Abu Qir Bay in Alexandria.

According to the statement, the head of the European Institute of Marine Archeology, Frank Goddio, indicated that the mission also found the area in which offerings, vows and precious items were stored in the Western Temple of Amun.

The sunken city of Thonis Heracleion is located 7 kilometers from the coast of the sea city of Abu Qir. It was considered the largest port of Egypt on the Mediterranean coast before Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria in 331 BC. — KUNA