Stunning ancient Roman mosaic found submerged in the sea off Naples

A mosaic on the floor of an old Roman villa was discovered on the seabed in the waters offshore Naples.

Now submerged, the marble floor was originally located in the “protiro,” or decorated porch, of a residence overlooking the sea, according to one report. Facebook post by the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park, which is part of the Italian Ministry of Culture, published Tuesday.

Built in the ancient spa town of Baiae, popular during the late Roman Empire and home to the residences of Julius Caesar and Emperor Nero, the villa forms part of an area of ​​land that became submerged as a result of a geological phenomenon called bradyism during the which the ground rises or, as in this case, sinks due to pressure beneath the surface.

Preliminary research shows that the floor is largely made of irregularly shaped pieces of reused marble, a technique common between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, according to the park.

The marble is also broken because the walls of the room, which were more than 10 meters high, collapsed to the floor, he added.

Underwater work continues to uncover and restore a larger portion of the floor, while some sections have been removed and cleaned on land.

The objective is to try to reconstruct an entire section of the floor, according to the post.

Local mayor Josi Gerardo Della Ragione called the discovery “stupendous” in a publish on Facebook.

The base would have been placed near the end of the Roman Empire, “just before Bradyism brought these wonders to the bottom of the sea,” he said.

The area is now a popular diving spot, offering opportunities to see submerged ruins.

Campi Flegrei, or Phlegrean Fields – a large volcanic area stretching 200 kilometers (125 miles) under the Bay of Naples and the islands of Capri and Ischia to the outskirts of the city of Naples – is a giant caldera, or depression.

It is now the site of several volcanoes that have been active for 39,000 years, many of which are underwater.

The last major eruption of Campi Flegrei occurred in 1538 and created a new mountain in the bay.

Seismic activity in the area has intensified since December 2022, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), and experts fear the volcano could be awakening after generations of rest.

For more news and newsletters from CNN, create an account at CNN.com