Crews are restoring the 2,700-square-foot underwater treasure.
Finding remnants of ancient Rome lost to time near the Naples coast doesn’t require shovels or pickaxes. Instead, explorers are strapping on scuba gear to dive far beneath the ocean surface to look for the submerged remains of the Roman empire. And the latest find, discovered in the Gulf of Naples, includes a restoration of a roughly 2,700-square-foot marble floor built toward the end of the Roman Empire as a reception room for a traditional villa in the city of Baia. Hex Marble Tile
Baia, in the Phlegraean Fields off the coast of Naples, was once a holiday getaway for ancient Romans. Near both commercial and military ports like Capo Miseno and Portus Julius, respectively, the area thrived with activity. But then the Earth moved (well, there were military conflicts too, but that’s not relevant to the underwater history). Credited to the volcanic volatility in the area, portions of the coast started sinking, taking with it ancient Roman ruins of imperial baths, statues, mosaics, and, of course, marble floors.
The Archaeological Marine Park of Baia now protects eight underwater sites, popular for scuba diving, with some even close enough to the surface for snorkelers to enjoy.
The Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park, in a Facebook post, said that the marble floor restoration—undertaken by Naumacos Underwater Archaeology and the CSR Restauro Beni Culturali—offered a “very complicated new challenge due to the extreme fragmentation of the remains and their large extent.”
With thousands of marble slabs assembled to create an intricate geometry, the floor produces a stunning underwater scene.
Campi Flegrei (or Phlegraean Fields), from the Greek meaning “burning Earth,” signifies an area of volcanic activity that lowered the ground slowly in human terms, but quickly in geological timing. According to the archaeological park, both the changes in the volume of a magma chamber close to the surface or the changes in heat that affect the volume of water contained in the porous subsoil can cause the phenomenon, called bradyseism. This phenomenon caused the ancient coastal strip to sink, submerging entire towns, including the commercial city of Pozzuoli, the commercial and military ports near Miseno, and the residential enclave Baia.
The first findings in the area of archaeological record took place in the 1920s, but the primary underwater survey wasn’t launched in the waters until the 1960s, helping draft the initial archaeological map of the submerged city of Baia. Explorers found a paved road flanked by buildings just 20 feet underwater, along with a shrine to the emperor Claudius. Concrete pillars were located about 1,300 feet from the coast, leading to the identification of the ancient coastline.
Restoration projects have started and stopped continually since the 1960s.
The latest find offers up an example of an incredibly expensive and challenging task when first undertaken, thanks to the number of painted marble pieces forming the expansive entryway. It wasn’t a story of pure marble extravagance when it was originally created, though, as the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park says they believe that the sharpened squares, each with inscribed circles, were made from second-hand marble. Still, there’s nothing subpar about this find centuries later.
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
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