Neolithic figurine, over 7,000 years old, unearthed at Turkey’s Çatalhöyük

Achaeologists at Turkey's neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia have unearthed a "unique" complete female figurine, The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Tuesday.The statuette, measuring 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) long and weighing one kilogram (2.2 pounds), is considered unique due to its intact form and fine craftsmanship; it dates back to about 5500-8000 BC, a statement said.The figurine, which is made of marmoreal stone and considered to be part of a ritual, was discovered by the international team of archaeologists working on site led by Professor Ian Hodder, anthropologist at Stanford University in the U.S.

One of the world's first urban centers which dates back 9,000 years, Çatalhöyük is included in the 2012 UNESCO World Heritage List.

"Çatalhöyük has been the subject of investigation for more than 50 years. Researchers from around the world have travelled to the site over the past half-century to study its vast landscape of buildings, remarkable ways of life, and its many exquisite works of art and craft.

"Since 1993, the Catalhoyuk Research Project has recruited an international group of specialists to pioneer new archaeological, conservation and curatorial methods on and off site. Simultaneously, it aims to advance our understandings of human life in the past," according to the official website.

Heracleion: Submerged City of Ancient Egypt

Heracleion, was an ancient Egyptian city near Alexandria whose ruins are located in Abu Qir Bay, currently 6.5 km off the coast. Its legendary beginnings go back to as early as the 12th century BC, but until recently the city had been known only from a few literary and epigraphic sources including the writings of such ancient Greek historians as Diodorus and Strabo, as well as Herodotus.

Heracleion reportedly grew in importance from the 6th to the 4th century BC, as revealed by numerous archaeological finds... during the waning days of the Pharaohs... when it became Egypt's main port. The city was originally built on some adjoining islands in the Nile delta, and was intersected by canals.

It was believed that Paris and Helen of Troy were stranded there on their flight from the jealous Menelaus, before the Trojan war began, and was further suggested that Heracles, himself, had visited the city, and that Heracleion had gained its name from him. The city had a large temple of Khonsou, son of Amun, who was known to the Greeks as Heracles. Pharaoh Nectanebo I made many additions to the temple in the 4th century B.C.

The city sank in the 6th or 7th century A.D., probably due to major earthquakes and floods. The ruins submerged in the sea were finally located and rediscovered by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio in 2000.