The Mediterranean coast and that of the Red Sea harbour an extremely rich submarine archaeological heritage. This Egyptian legacy, that has yet to be completely exploited by historians and archaeologists, covers a period stretching from the IVth century BC to the XVIIIth century AD.

Alexander the Great founded this city in 331 BC and it still carries his name. The capital of Egypt for a thousand years before the Arab conquest in 641 AD, Alexandria was a cultural and trading centre of Antiquity.