Metro works are
ongoing in many larger cities all over Europe and Naples (Napoli) in Italy is one of them. Here
archaeologists found the port
of Roman Neapolis ,
now located three meters deep and some 200 meters inland.
The history of Naples
goes back at least four thousand years but when it became part of Magna Graecia in the 6th
century BC, it gained in importance and thrived for almost one thousand years.
At some time during the 5th century AD, however, the harbor started
to silt up and it is exactly this sand and mud that has preserved the wood of
the ships that were uncovered during the subway constructions.
The archaeological team has exposed the hulls of two
The only way to
preserve these vessels was to move them to a safe location in the suburb of
nearby Piscinola. Here all the finds
from the metro works are being stored and carefully labeled. The ships occupy a
temperature-controlled space of their own as they are kept submerged in cold
water that is renewed every two weeks. The smallest vessel from Neapolis
has been selected for restoration at the Central Institute of Rome.
Besides the
harbor, excavations have enabled to locate the exceptional temple complex that
underscores the importance of the Isolympic Games instituted by Emperor Augustus in the year 2 AD. Other
parts of the construction areas have yielded marble friezes and capitals,
terracotta artifacts, and simple everyday objects like combs, bowls, bags, and spoons – all from Greek and Roman times. But the successive layers also
revealed previously unknown aspects from medieval, Byzantine, Norman, and
Angevin times which all contribute to the rich history of Naples .
The next question is
obviously what to do with the 3.3 million artifacts that have so far been
accumulated in the Piscinola warehouse
and how to make the remarkable ship remains accessible to the general public.
This is a delicate matter as far as logistics are concerned and also financially.
One of the options is to incorporate some of the objects into the metro
stations proper, as has been done in Athens ,
for instance.
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