Italian archaeologists have discovered two marble altars in the lost city of Puteoli, an ancient Roman trading hub partially engulfed by the Gulf of Naples. Seismic activity capsized parts of the Roman outpost; a contemporary Italian town named Pozzuoli stands on the shore of the same Mediterranean cove.
The ancient Greeks founded Puteoli around 600 BCE. It became part of the Roman Empire and served as a vital trading hub for luxury goods and grain from Alexandria, Egypt.
THE the salvaged altars were part of the “Temple of the Nabataeans,” according to the Italian Culture Ministry announcement on April 11. The ministry said archaeologists have known the approximate location of the submerged temple for a long time, but only recently have they been able to decipher its exact resting place.
The Nabataeans were a powerful civilization of nomadic Arab merchants. They built Petra in present-day Jordan around the 3rd century BCE. The group retained power in trade networks and held a permanent outpost at Puteoli. From their center in the Roman city, the Nabataeans facilitated trade between the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and mainland Arabia. They have grown rich in part by controlling the delivery of aromatics such as frankincense and myrrh to the ancient Romans.
The trading partnership turned the Nabataeans and ancient Romans into allies. Shortly after the newly discovered marble altars were created, the ancient Romans conquered Petra in 106 CE. Puteoli remained a trading outpost for Rome until the Empire’s collapse.
Other important archaeological finds from the present town of Pozzuoli include a statue dedicated to the Roman Emperor Domitian, a relief honoring an emperor, and a collection serious glass vials thought to have been distributed as souvenirs from late Roman times. The city also has a well-preserved Roman amphitheater (the third largest in Italy) which rises safely above the Gulf of Naples.
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