Scientists Race to Save Submerged Roman City From Rock-Eating Bacteria

Hidden beneath the sand and pebbles... a Roman mosaic.

Here in the waters of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, just a few kilometres from Naples, a small wave of the hand reveals precious, ancient Roman mosaics.

Divers, snorkelers and tourists visit all year round - to travel back in time and swim through ancient streets, past mosaics, statues, columns and the remains of what was once a seaside resort for wealthy Romans.

Now the only residents are fish and seahorses, but until the end of the third century A.D. the Roman town of Baia was a playground frequented by senators, wealthy Roman citizens and emperors.

That was until the land sank below sea level due to bradyseism, a volcanic phenomenon consisting of a periodic lowering or raising of the level of the ground caused by volcanic activity beneath the earth's surface.

Julius Caesar, Nero, Cicero, Hadrian, Augustus, Mark Anthony and countless others - they all came to Baia, where they had villas and palaces, to enjoy its beauty, the beneficial natural baths and banquets rich in oysters and good wine.

"Baia was a place where people had fun, ancient Roman style. We're talking thermal tourism and also eno-gastronomic (food and wine) tourism, as we call it, because there were products of excellence from this area both at sea and on land: the great wines of Campania or the farming of molluscs, oysters, fish from (Lake) Lucrino, fish farms, all agri-food resources which guaranteed added value at their banquets, which was obviously important," says Fabio Pagano, director of the Archaeological Park of Campi Flegrei.

"The drawback -- mentioned in ancient sources -- was that Baia was often referred to as a place of ruin where people came for excellent and noble reasons, such as thermal therapies, but then they carried out practices much less related to those activities and more related to personal enjoyment."

The first signs of the slow downward movement that led to the disappearance of the coastal strip began at the end of the fourth century AD.

The most coveted destination of Rome's VIPs was destined to sink forever, flooded and buried by sand.

"Bradyseism (gradual movement of land due to volcanic activity) caused the land to submerge, or rather it is the land that submerged was replaced by the sea," explains Pagano.

The sinking of the coast caused the abandonment of the coastal villas, but it also ensured its immortality, as the ruins of the city were discovered towards the end of the last century.

In 1969 at Punta Epitaffio the ruins of two marble statues were discovered by chance. They represented two characters from the story of Polyphemus's (the Cyclops) drunkenness: Ulysses who hands to the Cyclops the cup full of wine, while his companion pours from a wineskin.

Further excavations took place in the 1980s.

But the underwater site still holds many secrets says archaeologist Enrico Gallocchio.

"The submerged city of Baia is currently only known within the perimeter of the walls plus a few specific points, but it is an ongoing discovery. 400 metres of remains stretch from the current coastline, therefore many settlements, many houses, many baths are still to be discovered or are only minimally known. Columns, new floors, new mosaics are constantly emerging during the research that the park is conducting."

The statues are now preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Campi Flegrei but copies of the originals have been placed underwater so that divers can experience the splendour of 2,000 years ago.

The underwater park has become one of the main attractions of the archaeological park of Campi Flegrei.

About 15 thousand people come to visit every year by snorkelling, diving or aboard boats, including the semi-submersible Nemo, that have windows in the keel.

They come to admire everything that has been discovered and to imagine what else is hidden down there.

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