"Egypt's Sunken Treasures" exhibition has already been shown in Berlin, Paris and Bonn."It retraces 15 centuries of history, from the eighth century B.C. to the eighth century A.D., and testifies to the mix of civilizations," French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio, who led the team that recovered the artifacts, told a news conference in Madrid.

The treasures will be on display in a special 4,000-square-metre (43,000-square-foot) area in the city's former slaughterhouse, said Alicia Moreno, in charge of culture in Madrid's city hall.

The artifacts are from the legendary lost cities of Herakleion and Canopus, and a submerged part of the port of Alexandria.

They disappeared in the eighth century AD when the cities were submerged by an earthquake or other natural disaster, sinking to the seabed near Alexandria.

Spending thousands of hours under water, the French-led team of archeological divers brought to the surface gold jewellery, coins, heads of sphinxes and the biggest statue of Hapy, the god of the Nile, ever found in Egypt.

The artifacts span from the days of the last pharaohs to Alexander the Great and the period of Greek rule to the Roman conquest then to the Byzantine times until the beginning of the age of Islam.

The unique objects reflect the importance of three cities counted during Antiquity amongst the most famous centres for trade, science, culture and religion.

The exhibition furthermore offers spectacular insight into the fascinating work of the divers and marine archaeologists. The exhibition runs until September 28.