Archeologists discovered the mosaic floor that was once the foundation for a Roman villa off the Italian coast.
The discovery was at the former Roman city of Baiae that was submerged under water due to volcanic activity, CBS News reported.
“Thousands of marble slabs” with “hundreds of different shapes” were discovered at the site, the Campi Flegrei Archeological Park (PACF) wrote in a Facebook post in Italian. (RELATED: Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Villa Hiding ‘Mysterious’ Feature)
Archeologists described the remains of the villa in another PACF post in Italian. “The great hall (called by archaeologists “basilica”) to which it belonged is typical of the gentlemen’s residences starting at the end of the 3rd century AD, during which these large reception rooms were replaced by smaller previous rooms,” the post read in part.
The unevenness of the reused marble “is also typical of the Late Antiquity period,” the post added.
Josi Gerardo Della Ragione, Mayor of the nearby Municipality of Bacoli, called the find “stupendous” in a Facebook post in Italian. “The care of these underwater treasures has been classified as a UNESCO heritage site,” the mayor added.
The recovery and restoration work on the site is an ongoing “and complex” operation but one in which offers “great satisfactions,” the park wrote online. Baiae was once a popular spa resort during the Roman Empire, CNN reported. Julius Caesar and Emperor Nero owned domiciles in the city, the outlet noted.
Many of the volcanoes that caused the city to submerge beneath the waves are also underwater, the outlet noted. The last major eruption by a volcano in the area was reportedly in 1538 and formed a new mountain. Another volcanic eruption could occur soon due to intensifying seismic activity detected since December 2022, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said, the outlet reported.
