In episode 3 of the Dive & Dig season II podcast, Professor Bettany Hughes heads to the Bay of Naples in Italy, where in the middle of a volcanic landscape, the ancient Roman city of Baia now lies underwater.
Baia was submerged due to volcanic movement and today, the site is a vast archaeological marine park, with statues, villas and mosaics visible underwater. Often called the Las Vegas of the Roman world, it was the playground of the Roman elite.
While Bettany heads to Baia to visit the site with Michele Stefanie, senior research fellow at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale in Naples, Dr Lucy Blue talks with Barbara Davidde, of the Soprintendenza Nazionale Per Il Patrimonio Culturale Subacqueo (National Superintendency for Underwater Cultural Heritage) to learn more about how Baia has become an archaeological park, allowing visitors to explore the remains by diving or snorkelling in the clear waters of the bay.
Episode Facts:
- Playground of the wealthy…..sunk due to volcanic movement….visitors can now dive/snorkel the site
- On the other side of the bay was the centre of Roman Naval Power – the base of the Roman fleet. The area was also the largest Roman commercial harbour with goods arriving from across the Mediterranean and beyond.
- Beautifully preserved Roman mosaics underwater
- Advanced tech used to sonar map a recently discovered (and unannounced) temple near the main site and excavation will begin soon
