The discovery of a Roman highway submerged in the Venice Lagoon is described in Scientific Reports this 7 days. The findings propose that substantial settlements might have been current in the Venice Lagoon centuries ahead of the founding of Venice commenced in the fifth century.
All through the Roman period, huge regions of the Venice Lagoon which are now submerged were obtainable by land. Roman artefacts have been uncovered in lagoon islands and waterways, but the extent of human occupation of the lagoon for the duration of Roman situations has been unclear.
Mapping the lagoon floor making use of sonar, Fantina Madricardo and colleagues learned 12 archaeological buildings aligned in a northeasterly route for 1,140 metres, in an region of the lagoon identified as the Treporti Channel. The structures were up to 2.7 metres tall and 52.7 metres prolonged. Previous surveys of the Treporti Channel uncovered stones very similar to paving stones utilised by Romans through road construction, indicating that the constructions may possibly be aligned along a Roman street. The researchers also found an extra 4 structures in the Treporti Channel that were up to four metres tall and 134.8 metres lengthy. Based mostly on its dimensions and similarity to buildings discovered in other parts, the most significant of these buildings is thought to be a possible harbour framework, this sort of as a dock. Beforehand collected geological and modelling knowledge indicates that the highway is located on a sandy ridge that was earlier mentioned sea degree during the Roman period but is now submerged in the lagoon.
The conclusions propose that a permanent settlement may perhaps have been existing in the Treporti Channel through the Roman period. The authors suggest that the street may possibly have been joined to a broader community of Roman roads in the Italian Veneto Area and may possibly have been applied by travellers and sailors to journey among what is now the city of Chioggia and the Northern Venice Lagoon.
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Posting information
New proof of a Roman street in the Venice Lagoon (Italy) dependent on higher resolution seafloor reconstruction
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92939-w
Corresponding Author:
Fantina Madricardo
ISMAR-Marine Science Institute in Venice, Venice, Italy
Electronic mail: [email protected]
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