Antipyrgos Submerged Harbour
Tobruk Submerged Quays · Antipyrgos Roadstead
Hellenistic to Roman (4th c. BCE–5th c. CE)·Ptolemaic / Roman·🇱🇾 Marmarica, Tobruk Bay, Libya
About
About Antipyrgos Submerged Harbour
Ptolemaic-Roman harbour Antipyrgos in Tobruk Bay, now 2 m submerged eastern mole with Hellenistic tower footing and WWII debris overlay. Rescue survey 2010 documented ashlar moles and amphora breakwater.
Why it mattersOnly Marmarica harbour documenting Hellenistic to WWII layering.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Tower's lighthouse function
- 02Mole construction joint
Theories
- 01Tobruk as Ptolemaic naval base (Jones)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Ptolemaic tower 4th c. BCE; Roman moles 1st c. CE
- Period
- Hellenistic to Roman (4th c. BCE–5th c. CE)
- Culture
- Ptolemaic / Roman
- Purpose
- Marmarica naval station on Alexandria-Cyrene route
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
4th c. BCE
Ptolemaic tower built
1st c. CE
Roman moles 100 m each
365 CE
Subsidence 2 m (Crete quake)
2010 CE
Rescue survey by H. Torson
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0800° N · 23.9800° E · -2 m · 2 mapped features
Eastern Mole of Antipyrgos
harbourAshlar mole 100×8 m submerged 2 m
32.0810° N · 23.9810° EHellenistic Tower Footing of Antipyrgos
towerTower 7×7 m footing on mole head
32.0790° N · 23.9790° E