The Pharos educational
For 6 to 10 years. Up to 20 participants in groups of 2 to 3
The workshops :
Underwater excavation
Studying the blocks
Archaeologists have discovered blocks of stone under the sea at the foot of Qaitbay Fort in Alexandria, Egypt. An underwater archaeological excavation has begun to identify these remains. In two workshops, children can learn how archaeologists work underwater and how they study of the blocks that are discovered. The Underwater excavation workshop will help them understand why we float, how an aquameter works, how to raise blocks that have been found and how to write underwater. The second workshop, Studying the blocks, will help them identify iconography and representations of the lighthouse on other objects before studying the remains and deciphering Greek and Pharaonic inscriptions. The experience ends with a riddle to solve: the origin of the blocks that have been found.
Learning objectives
- Learn how to gather historical and archaeological documents and to read maps
- Learn how to order and classify
- Learning to identify things through observation
- Learn how to position oneself in time
- Acquire an overview of the underwater archaeology approach and the specific nature of this activity
The activity
Two activities are involved: Underwater excavation and Studying the blocks. The ten children in each activity work in pairs. The activity lasts 1 hour 30 mins if the children take part in just one of the two activities (with a presentation) or 2 hours 30 mins if they take part in both activities in succession. It is advisable to have two activity leaders for the initial sessions.