Eritrea

One of the Red Sea’s most important ancient ports now lies kilometres from the sea – with much of it still buried beneath sand.

Adulis in Eritrea was a trading hub linking Africa with the Mediterranean, Arabia and India. Ivory, wine, olive oil, spices and gemstones all passed through the port.

After the city was abandoned, rivers and floods carried large quantities of sand and silt down from the highlands. In many places, the ruins now lie beneath around two metres of sediment.

At the same time, the shoreline moved outwards. A city that once depended on the sea now lies roughly five to seven kilometres from it.

Archaeologists are still uncovering Adulis from beneath the sand.