Ancient Rome: Sunken City Devastated by a Tsunami 1,600 Years Ago Discovered off Tunisian Coast

Newsweek ^ | September 1, 2017 | Callum Paton

[SunkenCiv]

The discovery has revealed the Roman city of Neapolis, with its networks of submerged streets and monuments, was a crucial trading hub in ancient north Africa.

The fourth century tsunami that partly destroyed Neapolis was well recorded at the time. It struck in Alexandria, one of the great seats of learning in the ancient world as well as the Greek Island of Crete...

The further recovery of Roman food products, including roughly 100 tanks of fermented fish that was used as a condiment known as garum in the Roman empire, has told the archaeological team more about Neapolis's history...

The Tunisian and Italian team began the search for the remains of Neapolis in 2010. They only found the 50 acres of ancient ruins this summer because of favorable weather conditions.

Neapolis, which means 'new city' in Greek, was founded in the fifth century B.C. by ancient Greek colonists. It is now known in Tunisia by the name Nabuel, which was built on the site of the old city. A popular tourist destination, it is a modern-day center for Tunisian pottery.

The city has changed hands several times over the ages, transferring to Carthaginian, Roman and then Arab rule.

Because of it's unique history, created by the ebb and flow of colonization and conquest on the shores of the Mediterranean, the Tunisian landscape is home to some of the most impressive examples of Greek, Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and European heritage sites. They include the Carthaginian capital of Carthage. The ruins, characterized by their tall Phoenician pillars, are spread across a modern Tunisian city that shares the same name. It became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979.

[SunkenCiv]

'Tsunami-sunk' Roman ruins discovered in Tunisia | 1:11
(French language) | AFP News Agency | 1.66M subscribers | 27K views | 5 years ago

Transcript
0:15	·	on a commencé à travailler dans le cadre
0:18	·	de cette mission archéologique tuniso
0:21	·	italienne en 2010 on était à la
0:24	·	recherche du port et les prospection
0:27	·	sous-marine voilà nous ont permis de
0:30	·	reconnaître d'autres vestiges et surtout
0:34	·	de d'avoir la certitude que néapolis
0:37	·	avait souffert vraiment de ce séisme de
0:40	·	365
0:41	·	c'est une découverte majeure parce que
0:44	·	on a des témoignages écrits et là on a
0:48	·	des témoignages archéologiques qui
0:50	·	corrobore en fait ce qui a été dit par
0:52	·	les historiens de l'antiquité
0:53	·	donc là c'est très important parce que
0:57	·	souvent on a des témoignages écrits mais
1:00	·	on n'arrive pas en fait à identifier tel
1:03	·	ou tel événement au tel ou tel monument

[SunkenCiv]

Recent twofer number three.

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[Dilbert San Diego]

An underwater ancient city? Will this place be used to push global warming, sea levels rising, coastal cities getting flooded, all of that? Will this be used to say that this is our future, unless we get rid of fossil fuels, etc. ???

[Fai Mao]

Can one hit DC?

[SunkenCiv]

• Ammianus Marcellinus on the tsunami of 365 [Livius.org]
• 365 Crete earthquake [wikipedia]

[telescope115]

Can one hit DC?

Don’t we wish….

[SoConPubbie]

Can one hit DC?

We need one that hits both the East AND West Coasts simultaneously to cleanse the filth out of the USA!

[x]

The further recovery of Roman food products, including roughly 100 tanks of fermented fish that was used as a condiment known as garum in the Roman empire, has told the archaeological team more about Neapolis's history...

Okay, I'm willing to give it a taste.

Who else is game?

[SunkenCiv]

Mmm, mmm, good.

[katana]

I’m sure they will say but for the methane emissions from all the horses drawing all those chariots the tsunami would never have happened.

[SunkenCiv]

• Ancient Roman Garum Factory Found in Israel, Suitably Far Away From Town [02/07/2020]
• Pompeii 'fast food' bar unearthed in ancient city after 2,000 years [04/01/2019]
• 200,000 fish bones suggest ancient Scandinavian people were more complex than thought [02/08/2016]
• Sunken haul of Roman fish sauce found off Italy [12/12/2015]
• Fermenting herring prompted gas leak call [09/09/2012]
• How the Cavemen Ate: Cookbook Reveals 77 Recipes Stretching Right Back to the Stone Age [05/12/2012]
• How a Ship Full of Fish Helped Recreate an Ancient Fish Sauce [03/06/2012]
• Roman Shipwreck Discovered Near Aeolian Islands [07/02/2010]
• Fish Sauce Used to Date Pompeii Eruption [ garum / liquamen] [09/30/2008]
• Giant Roman Shipwreck Yields "Fishy" Treasure [11/21/2006]
• Waiter, There's a Fish in My Wine! [01/31/2005]

[NWFree]

Climate Change

[katana]

Hope they analyze it. The Romans were addicted to the stuff. May be something like Vietnamese fish sauce.

[SunkenCiv]

Google translation of the French YT transcript.

We started to work within the framework of this Tunisian-Italian archaeological mission in 2010. We were looking for the port and the underwater prospecting here allowed us to recognize other vestiges and especially to have the certainty that Neapolis had really suffered from this earthquake of 365. It is a major discovery because we have written testimonies and there we have archaeological testimonies, which in fact corroborate what was said by the historians of antiquity. So there it is. Very important because often we have written testimonies, but we cannot in fact identify such and such an event with such and such a monument.

[Gary from Dayton]

Definitely a result of fossil fuel reliance. We should learn from them:)

[Verginius Rufus]

Thucydides mentions it as a Carthaginian emporium (7.50.2) which was located where there was the shortest distance by sea to Sicily. Early Christian bishops of the place are known from the years 258, 411, 419, 484, 525, and 649.

The area was under Vandal rule for about a century so maybe they will find some spray-painted graffiti.

[Ezekiel]

Well now we all know: “Tunisia” is a corruption of “tsunami”.

[Deplorable American1776]

Did the Democrats blamed Trump for the Tsunami that flooded the city? If not, I'm surprised!

Or maybe IC engines or SUVs are to blame!!

[Deplorable American1776]

Can one hit DC?

DC, New York, Baltimore should be hit with one...San Fran, Portland, Seattle and LA too...

[SunkenCiv]

Danged taggers.