A photo of Tibuda:
the stone structure on the beach, relentlessly worked by
the restless waves of the sea, is part of the sunken city
of Tibuda. The black heaps on the left were formed by the
accumulation of seaweed, which the Berbers call talga.
A truly breathtaking site.
Libya’s 2000-kilometer-long coastline offers a unique
opportunity to divers and underwater explorers to see what has never been seen
before, including a large number of wrecks, sunken archaeological
sites (many of which are certainly to be discovered), and gold, supposedly lost
to pirates and ships from the Second World War. Some tour operators offer cruises
along the coast, with onboard diving facilities. The most popular diving destinations
include Janzour, Tajoura and Zuwarah. Unfortunately, Tiboda is currently
closed to public viewing without a written permission from the Libyan Board of
Tourism and Traditional Industries. We can arrange tours to the sunken site only
if visitors can secure a written permit from the Libyan Board of Tourism. Please
do not attempt to visit the site without written permission no matter what your
guide tells you, as breaking the law could land you in trouble with the authorities.
Tiboda
This is the view from the other side of the seaweed structure
in the first photo. There was another stone structure on
this side similar to the stone structure in the first photo,
before it was bulldozed into a pile of stone
for the seaweed to gradually cover. No archaeological studies
have been taken so far to uncover what lays beneath this
stone structure, nor were there any professional studies
to catalogue the actual city.
Tibuda or Tiboda is situated
approximately 4 kilometres to the west of Zwara city (Zuwarah),
and sits about seven to ten meters under water. The site is not yet fully explored
nor properly catalogued, as it was discovered only recently. Dr. Shawqi Moammer,
a researcher from Zuwarah, had some photos of the site since 2003, while researchers
in the USA were said to have identified the sunken city through satellite imaging
in 2010.
Dr. Shawqi was quoted to have said that American researchers
have discovered a number of sunken cities (or sites) along the southern coast
of the Mediterranean including Tibuda, and that the scientific explanation for
this is that these cities were covered by the tsunami that took place around
8,000 years ago, after a volcano eruption in Sicilia. According to some sources
this generalisation does not prove Tibuda to be that old, and only underwater
archaeological research will conclude the age of the stone structures. While
others say the sea level after the tsunami never returned to its previous level
and therefore Tibuda must ne around 8,000 years ago. However, tsunamis
are caused by earthquakes, sub aqueous landslides and asteroid impacts, in addition
to volcano eruptions.
The Mediterranean sea had claimed many coastal cities in
the past and it was predicted that it will continue to do so in the future, especially
after the predicted melting of the arctic and antarctic ice, associated with
global warming. Scientists have warned that many coastal cities are at risk and
that the sea level could rise by nine metres (9 m). They have also predicted
that the southern Mediterranean is likely to be hit by
a tsunami, and that the Nile Delta might also prove unstable as a result
of "several recent fault escarpments" seen on the sea floor. There
are already a number of cities and villages registered as
"endangered places" around Greenland and Iceland, some of which are
being moved to other localities. If scientists are correct,
then Zuwarah itself may one day join its sister Tibuda!
The view of Tiboda beach facing the sunken
city.
Its close proximity to Zuwarah city may shed more light about
the ancient history of Zuwara, before its ancient coast was claimed by the sea.
It has been already suggested that Tibuda may have been the ancient port of the
city of Zuwarah during the Roman period, and that the port was used to export
the main commodities produced by the Zuwaran communities, mainly olive oil, salt,
lime and gypsum. The evidence for this comes from its Roman name. D. Haynes,
in his An Archaeological And Historical Guide To The Pre-Islamic Antiquities
of Tripolitania (p. 136.), gives a list of the names of the towns and villages
that formed the stations along the Roman road across the coastal Tripolitania.
Based on the Roman pictorial road-map of the Roman Empire, the Tabula Peutingeriana, and
on the evidence preserved by the road milestones along this road, he gives the
following names: Sabratha, Ad Ammonem, Casas, and Gypsaria (Marset
Tibuda). Casas has been identified with Zuwarah, and Gypsaria (or Tibuda)
is clearly related to gypsum, which indicates that the area around Tibuda could
have also produced gypsum, the reason for which the port may have been built
in that locality. The name Marset Tibuda clearly indicates that it was
a seaport (marsa), from marina, which survives today in the local
language in another name: Elmers (Zuwara Marina), the current seaport of
Zuwara, a few miles east of the city.
However, it is not known yet if the port,
like many other sites along the Libyan coast, was in existence before the Romans
had arrived. There is no doubt that the site is ancient
because among the nearby finds were remains of Roman villas, mosaic pieces and
pottery. This conclusion is also evidenced by the archaeological remains found
south of Tibuda, which the Berbers call ighermawen ('the castles').
If it was the same port, then how are we to understand that
Tibuda sunk 8,000 years ago? Perhaps the Roman Tibuda was built on top of the
sunken Tibuda? Or maybe Tibuda was covered by seawater after the Romans' arrival
and not after the Tsunami? Only archaeological analysis of sunken Tibuda would
indicate its true age.
Marine wildlife by the beach of Tiboda.
From what has been explored so far and from what had been
released to the public, Tiboda looks like a small settlement,
consisting of open rooms built with carved stone columns and stone arches, most
of which are thought to be buried by 4 meters of sand. As a result the arches
are so low -- barely enough for one to swim through, says Yousef Saleh Helmi (zuwara.com/zuwarahblogs/102.htm),
who had also provided six photos, which he said were taken by Dr. Shawqi Moammer,
including the following two:
A Libyan diving team guided by Mohammed Gaddafi went on
an underwater adventure to investigate the Tibuda site near Zuwarah. The team
took a number of photographs of the site. The following photos, taken by Naser
Hwas, were published by Libyaonline in
2004 (the website now seems to have disappeared and the old link to the
source file became unavailable).
