Lost Cities

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This year's expedition resulted in another impressive haul, indicating that Herakleion will continue pleasing archaeologists for some time to come. Inscriptions on a statue, for example, indicate that the Temple of Herakleion was in continuous use for much of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The treasures discovered at the site include exquisite bronze ritual objects, such as an incense burner with a duckbill handle, and a ladle topped by a vulture's head. The discovery of gold Byzantine coins and crosses in the area may indicate the presence of a Christian monastery, proof that Herakleion was still inhabited as late as the 8th century A.D. Goddio's latest topographical study indicates that Herakleion was an ancient version of Venice, a city where canals were as prevalent as roads.

If Goddio seems like a wizard pulling off astonishing tricks, he has a magician's secret: a nuclear resonance magnetometer, a torpedo-shaped super-sensing device that can detect likely antiquities by measuring the relative density of submerged objects against the earth's magnetic field. As it is towed on the surface, the magnetometer relays data to the survey ship that are plotted on to a computerized grid connected to the satellite-based Global Positioning System. Goddio says that he adapted the magnetometer for archaeological use in collaboration with the French Atomic Energy Commission, which develops the French Navy's submarine-detection equipment. Exclusive rights to the magnetometer's civilian use give Goddio his edge over the competition. "Wherever we dive, we find something," says Susan Henrickson, an American member of Goddio's underwater team.

In the 1980s, Goddio concentrated on excavating shipwrecks, including a Chinese junk and the Spanish galleon San Diego, off the coast of the Philippines. Since then, he has focused on Egypt. In 1999, his team excavated the remains of L'Orient, Napoleon's warship sunk by Lord Nelson in 1798 during the Battle of Abukir. Turning to the antique world, Goddio used the magnetometer to develop the most detailed map ever made of the ancient Egyptian coastline. Excavations based on this topographical research led to his discovery of Herakleion and part of the city of Canopus in the same year.

Without doubt, Goddio's most glamorous work has been mapping and excavating the Royal Quarters of Alexandria. He identified the probable site of Cleopatra's palace on the island of Antirrhodos, which featured an esplanade lined with statues and granite columns. At about the same time, French archaeologist Jean-Yves Empereur, working a concession in Alexandria's eastern harbor, discovered the likely remains of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Critics of Goddio's work say he has stretched himself too thin, dashing from one project to another more out of love for adventure than for the serious discipline of archaeology. But it is hard to argue with his success in opening a window on ancient Egypt that was closed for centuries. So rich are the 8,741 artifacts that Goddio has brought up so far that Egyptian officials are talking about an international tour and a permanent museum of underwater archaeology in Alexandria. Recently, as his latest Herakleion mission was winding down, Goddio, who is 54 and lives in Paris, stood in shorts and a baseball cap on the deck of his survey vessel, Princess Duda, watching as a red granite naos was hoisted on board. "We cannot identify it yet," he explains. "We hope to discover some more clues about it during the next excavation." Most archaeologists could consider the discovery the achievement of a lifetime. For Goddio, it was another day's work.