Salvaging Cleopatra's Watery Palace

May 25: The recently excavated statuette of a boy Pharaoh, dating from the 4th or 5th century B.C., is shown with other artifacts onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. An international team of archaeological divers led by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio is using advanced technology to explore the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex from where Queen Cleopatra ruled. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A recently excavated bronze cult statue found in the Temple of Isis sits in a bath of fresh water to desalinate it, onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria. An international team of archaeological divers led by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio is using advanced technology to explore the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex from where Queen Cleopatra ruled, painstakingly excavating one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the world and retrieving stunning artifacts from the last dynasty to rule over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30 B.C. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A diver inspects a quartzite block with an engraving of a Pharaoh, indicated by hieroglyphic inscriptions on the stone as Seti I, father of Ramses II, on the seabed of the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, Tuesday, May 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Franck Goddio & Hilti Foundation, Christoph Gerigk)

Stone plates lie in a bath of fresh water to desalinate them, onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Divers are using advanced technology to explore the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex from where Queen Cleopatra ruled, painstakingly excavating one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the world. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio shows a recently excavated bronze cult statue -- found in the underwater Temple of Isis -- onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Goddio is using advanced technology to explore the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex from where Queen Cleopatra ruled. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A member of the crew checks a breathing apparatus prior to a dive, onboard the Princess Duda research boat in the harbor of Alexandria. The archaeological divers explored the submerged ruins of a palace -- one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the world. They retrieved stunning artifacts from the last dynasty to rule over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30 B.C. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A diver inspects limestone blocks that form part of the ruins of the Temple of Isis on the royal island of Antirhodos, on the seabed of the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. They're exploring the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex from where Queen Cleopatra ruled, painstakingly excavating one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the world and retrieving stunning artifacts from the last dynasty to rule over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30 B.C. (AP Photo/Franck Goddio & Hilti Foundation, Christoph Gerigk)

Recently excavated pottery is shown onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio speaks about the latest developments in the archeological excavation, onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Recently excavated artifacts are shown onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria. An international team of archaeological divers is painstakingly excavating one of the richest underwater archaeological sites in the world and retrieving stunning artifacts from the last dynasty to rule over ancient Egypt before the Roman Empire annexed it in 30 B.C. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Recently excavated artifacts are shown onboard the Princess Duda research boat, anchored in the harbor of Alexandria. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A recently excavated statuette of a boy Pharaoh dating from the 4th or 5th century B.C. is held onboard the Princess Duda research boat. An international team of archaeological divers is using advanced technology to explore the submerged ruins of a palace and temple complex from where Queen Cleopatra ruled. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A sunken red granite tower, part of a pylon of the Isis temple is lifted out of the Mediterranean Sea off the archaeological eastern harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian archeologists have lifted a major artifact out of the Mediterranean Sea in an elaborate effort to highlight ancient treasures buried under water off the harbor in Alexandria. It is intended to be the centerpiece of a planned underwater museum Egypt hopes will draw tourists to its northern coast, often overshadowed by hotspots such as Luxor, the Giza pyramids and Red Sea beaches. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A sunken red granite tower, part of a pylon of the Isis temple is lifted out of the Mediterranean Sea off the archaeological eastern harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian archeologists have lifted a major artifact out of the Mediterranean Sea in an elaborate effort to highlight ancient treasures buried under water off the harbor in Alexandria. It is intended to be the centerpiece of a planned underwater museum Egypt hopes will draw tourists to its northern coast, often overshadowed by hotspots such as Luxor, the Giza pyramids and Red Sea beaches. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A sunken red granite tower, part of a pylon of the Isis temple is extracted out of the Mediterranean Sea off the archaeological eastern harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian archeologists have lifted a major artifact out of the Mediterranean Sea in an elaborate effort to highlight ancient treasures buried under water off the harbor in Alexandria. It is intended to be the centerpiece of a planned underwater museum Egypt hopes will draw tourists to its northern coast, often overshadowed by hotspots such as Luxor, the Giza pyramids and Red Sea beaches. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A sunken red granite tower, part of a pylon of the Isis temple is extracted out of the Mediterranean Sea off the archaeological eastern harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian archeologists have lifted a major artifact out of the Mediterranean Sea in an elaborate effort to highlight ancient treasures buried under water off the harbor in Alexandria. It is intended to be the centerpiece of a planned underwater museum Egypt hopes will draw tourists to its northern coast, often overshadowed by hotspots such as Luxor, the Giza pyramids and Red Sea beaches. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A sunken red granite tower, part of a pylon of the Isis temple is extracted out of the Mediterranean Sea off the archaeological eastern harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian archeologists have lifted a major artifact out of the Mediterranean Sea in an elaborate effort to highlight ancient treasures buried under water off the harbor in Alexandria. It is intended to be the centerpiece of a planned underwater museum Egypt hopes will draw tourists to its northern coast, often overshadowed by hotspots such as Luxor, the Giza pyramids and Red Sea beaches. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A sunken red granite tower, part of a pylon of the Isis temple is extracted out of the Mediterranean Sea off the archaeological eastern harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian archeologists have lifted a major artifact out of the Mediterranean Sea in an elaborate effort to highlight ancient treasures buried under water off the harbor in Alexandria. It is intended to be the centerpiece of a planned underwater museum Egypt hopes will draw tourists to its northern coast, often overshadowed by hotspots such as Luxor, the Giza pyramids and Red Sea beaches. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A sunken red granite tower, part of a pylon of the Isis temple is loaded on a truck after being extracted out of the Mediterranean Sea off the archaeological eastern harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. Egyptian archeologists have lifted a major artifact out of the Mediterranean Sea in an elaborate effort to highlight ancient treasures buried under water off the harbor in Alexandria. It is intended to be the centerpiece of a planned underwater museum Egypt hopes will draw tourists to its northern coast, often overshadowed by hotspots such as Luxor, the Giza pyramids and Red Sea beaches. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)