A team of underwater archaeologists has discovered an ancient mosaic off the coast of Naples, Italy.
This unusual find was discovered in the Submerged Archaeological Park of Baia.
“Thousands of marble slabs, hundreds of different shapes, [were] “These combined create very distinct geometric shapes,” officials from Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park wrote in a Facebook post.
Divers discover 19th century shipwreck containing historical artifacts in Baltic Sea
The park is located in Campi Flegrei, an area of volcanic origin.
“Thousands of marble slabs and hundreds of different shapes were combined to create a very clear geometric structure,” officials from Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park said in a Facebook post. (Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park)
The fragments were originally unearthed in the reception room of a villa built at the end of the Roman Empire and are thought to have been carried to the seabed by a type of volcanic activity known as “slow earthquakes.”
Archaeologists unearth 24 skeletons dating back to the 7th century on hotel grounds
“There is a phenomenon known as bredseism, which consists of a rise (positive bredseism) or fall (negative bredseism) of the ground level that is relatively slow on human time scales but very fast compared to geological time,” the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park’s website says.
Discovered off the coast of Naples, Italy, the underwater mosaic covers an area of over 250 square metres. (Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park)
The discovered mosaic covers an area of more than 250 square metres.
“It was a very expensive and demanding intervention for the villa’s owners, who had to compromise with recycled materials, namely second-hand marble, to create the selected modules formed by refined squares, each with a circle engraved on it,” the Facebook post read.
Click here to sign up for our lifestyle newsletter
The discovery was the result of a collaboration between CSR Cultural Heritage Restoration and Naumachos Underwater Archaeology Techniques. (Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park)
In a Facebook post, Bacoli mayor Joji Gerardo Della Ragione said the discovery was “astonishing.”
For more lifestyle stories, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
“See the latest results of restorations at sea: the marble floors of an ancient Roman villa; the imperial city lying beneath the sea at Bacoli; in the world’s largest underwater archaeological park,” he wrote.
He expressed his gratitude to the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park and said the find would help develop tourism.
Researchers are working to extract marble fragments from the ocean floor. (Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park)
The discovery was the result of a collaboration between CSR Cultural Heritage Restoration and Naumachos Underwater Archaeology Techniques.
Researchers are working to extract marble fragments from the ocean floor.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Fox News Digital has reached out to Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park for comment.
