Archaeologists have identified the remains of what could be a lost Etruscan port along the Italian coast, a discovery that may be linked to one of the region’s oldest religious sites.
The find, described in a new study in the Journal of Cultural Heritage, was made in shallow water near Santa Marinella, about 800 meters (2,625 feet) north of the Roman-era settlement of Castrum Novum. Divers surveying the seabed found two clusters of carved limestone blocks sitting about 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) deep and roughly 90 meters (295 feet) from shore.
The study, led by Mauro Giorgi of Sapienza University of Rome, reports that the blocks form a double row stretching about 5 meters (16.4 feet) from northwest to southeast. The arrangement encloses a space filled with boulders and smaller stones, resembling a protective wall known as a mole.
Ancient mole and basin suggest a hidden Etruscan port on Italian coast
A narrow gap between the blocks appears to have let seawater flow into an enclosed basin, helping stop it from filling with silt, researchers say.
The wall continues to the northwest before turning at a right angle, forming an L-shaped structure that surrounds a basin covering about 3,000 square meters (32,292 square feet), the study said.
The structure sits just 130 meters (427 feet) from the Etruscan temple at Punta della Vipera, which was first built in the sixth century BC and significantly rebuilt in the late fourth century BC.
Researchers believe the port once served as a landing site connected to the temple, making the site possibly the earliest known port linked to an Etruscan temple found along the Italian coast.
Sea level clues help date the ancient landing site
To estimate when the port was built, researchers examined two features believed to have been part of an ancient walkway, now submerged between 0.50 and 0.60 meters (1.6 to 2.0 feet).
Based on that depth, the study estimates the sea level at the time was 1.20 to 1.40 meters (3.9 to 4.6 feet) lower than it is today, pointing to construction between the end of the fourth century and the start of the third century BC.
Fragments of red clay tile found near the structure matched material recovered decades ago from excavations at the temple, the study said, adding further support for a link between the two sites.
Researchers with the Centro Studi Marittimi have spent years surveying this stretch of coast, though much of that work has focused on Roman ruins near Castrum Novum. Evidence of Etruscan maritime construction has remained rare, despite ancient writers’ accounts of the civilization’s naval strength.
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