A Detailed Reconstruction of the Roman Landscape and the Submerged Archaeological Structure at “Castel dell’Ovo islet” (Naples, Southern Italy)

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of a multidisciplinary study aimed to reconstruct the Roman coastal landscape between Pizzofalcone hill and Megaris islet—the area of the ancient Parthenope, the first settlement along the Naples coast. This coastal sector was surveyed by a team of specialized divers (archaeologists and geomorphologists) and by using an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) equipped with acoustic and optical sensors. The indirect surveys provided a high-resolution dataset of morpho-acoustic and optical measurements, useful to obtain the geological, geomorphological and archaeological interpretations necessary to formulate hypotheses on the functionality of the complex submerged archaeological structure detected in the study area. In particular, the integration between the surveyed data, the high-resolution seafloor mapping and the previous knowledge deriving from the 1980s underwater research carried out by Centro Studi Subacquei, led us to interpret the submerged remains as a vivarium related to a 1st century BC Roman villa. Finally, by measuring the submersion of several channels and a well-preserved crepido, a relative sea level during the period of use at –2.2 m ±0.2 m mean sea level (MSL) was deduced, in agreement with the previous geoarchaeological studies realized in the near coastal sectors.