Bust of Neilos

This

2,000-year-old bust depicts Neilos, the Nile river god. Neilos appealed to

Egyptians and Greeks alike – he was the

Greek version of Hapy, the Egyptian personification of the annual Nile flood

that brought prosperity and fertility to the country. Neilos played a

significant role in one of the most popular festivals in Egypt, when the

beginning of the annual flood marked the Egyptian New Year.

This

bust was once mounted into a large decorative shield and adorned a temple in

the ancient Egyptian city of Canopus. It was discovered by underwater

archaeologists at the base of the wall on which

it once hung.

See more incredible objects that

have been preserved and buried under the sea for over a thousand years in the BP exhibition Sunken cities: Egypt’s lost worlds (19 May – 27 November 2016).

Bust of Neilos. Canopus, AD 100–200. Maritime Museum, Alexandria. Photo: Christoph

Gerigk. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation.