Original subtitles

Narrator: The roman town of baiae: A sprawling settlement

Lost beneath the waves For more than 1,000 years,

And underwater pompeii.

Renowned among ancient writers As a playground

For rome's rich And famous,

Today, archaeologists Sweep the seafloor

In search of its Submerged secrets.

Is there more to this Mysterious town

Than its reputation suggests?

For the romans, Baiae was las vegas,

The ultimate pleasure city.

Narrator: Now, pioneering underwater Scanning technology

Is bringing the dark history Of this submerged underworld

Back to life,

Lifting the curtain On rome's rich and infamous,

Shining new light on how They really lived and died.

This is the place where Rome really became empire.

Narrator: Could this sunken city

Transform our understanding Of ancient rome?

To solve this mystery, we'll Dredge this drowned metropolis.

We'll dive into the bay's Opulent villas

And between its buried streets

To unearth The astonishing secrets

Of this Lost ancient wonder.

--captions by vitac-- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

Thirty miles along the coast From pompeii

Lies one of the most remarkable Ancient sites in the world:

Baiae.

This mysterious sunken town Sits beneath the bay of naples.

It escapes the eruption

That destroys its famous Neighbor in 79 ad,

But like pompeii, It remains frozen in time.

Some of baiae's ruins still hug The coastline,

But they're just the tip Of an archaeological iceberg.

Narrator: Just a small portion of baiae's Ruins remain visible.

Private theaters And thermal bathhouses

Descend to the modern shoreline,

But the real wonder of baiae Is hidden from view.

Beneath the water, a mass Of roman buildings

Sprawl across the seafloor,

Covering an area three times The size of pompeii,

Houses and courtyards Drowned hundreds of years ago.

Why is this town lying at The bottom of the sea?

What secrets does it hold About the roman way of life?

Archaeologist barbara davidde Has spent more than a decade

Diving this drown ghost town.

She's trying to uncover Baiae's forgotten history

And explore how it ends up Beneath the waves.

Her team's goal is to map,

Measure, and log every Ancient item they find here.

[ boat motor hums ]

It's a mammoth task.

[ boat creaks ]

As soon as they descend,

A mysterious ruin emerges From the gloom.

This is the surface Of a roman road.

It's cobbled, just like The streets of pompeii.

The path leads to the remains Of a vast mansion.

Brushing away the sand Reveals exquisite mosaics.

Thousands of tiles Make up each one,

A drowned vision Of roman extravagance.

Barbara's team uses Underwater 3-d laser scanning

To create A high-resolution snapshot

Of this mysterious roman town.

The sand reveals A rich marble floor.

Its colors are still vibrant After 2,000 years.

The sheer scale of baiae's Luxury sets it apart

From nearby pompeii.

Why are so many extravagant Villas sitting on the seabed?

A clue lies in the structures That remain above the waterline.

[ rumbling ]

Pressed up against The cliff face,

A labyrinth of small rooms looks Out over the drowned villas.

Hidden deep in the ruins,

Archaeologists discover A roman floor

Suspended 20 inches off the Ground by terra-cotta pillars,

Evidence of an underfloor Heating system

Called a hypocaust.

Beside the pillars, a tunnel Plunges into the hillside.

Many more passages Chase alongside

From other rooms and buildings.

Why do baiae's inhabitants Dig these tunnels?

What is lurking deep Beneath this town?

Geologist guido giordano Believes the answer

Could explain why Baiae sinks beneath the waves.

Today, he investigates One tunnel.

Giordano: It's quite a squeeze.

Narrator: six hundred feet Into the mountain,

Guido hits a dead end, An underground river.

There's lots of salt here, White minerals.

I got a thermometer here. Wow.

That's 88 degrees, And that's way higher

Than the average temperature Out there.

Narrator: The romans dig these tunnels To carry heat

From the underground river To the town above.

Giordano: I can feel it.

Each one leads back To a luxury bathhouse.

Guido thinks the source Of baiae's hot water

Is the bay's fiery geology.

Twenty miles to the east Is vesuvius.

When it erupts in 79 ad, It engulfs pompeii.

Guido believes an even Bigger volcano heats baiae

And could be the cause Of its destruction.

The bay of baiae Is one volcanic crater

Out of many that form The entire landscape.

They all sit on A giant supervolcano:

The campi flegrei supervolcano.

Narrator: Campi flegrei is a supervolcano On the scale of yellowstone.

It's one of the largest Volcanoes on the planet.

Italy straddles the boundary

Between two colliding Tectonic plates:

Africa and eurasia.

As it dives beneath eurasia, The rock on the african plate

Melts into magma that rises To fill cracks in the crust.

Magma pools in chambers Below the surface.

Above them are italy's Famous volcanoes, etna,

Stromboli, vesuvius, And below baiae,

The magma of campi flegrei Heats water within the crust,

Dissolving minerals and gases For the roman baths.

But guido think this vast Magma chamber

Has more sinister effects,

Which could explain baiae's Descent beneath the waves.

He searches the bay's Coastline for evidence.

That volcanic cone over there is Called monte nuovo,

Which means new mountain Because it appeared over

The course of just 1 week Between the 29th of september

And the 6th of october Of the year 1538.

There are historical accounts That tell us that

In the years Preceding the eruption,

The grounds uplifted up To about 50 feet,

And then after the eruption, It relaxed.

Narrator: Guido believes this ground Movement is what drowns baiae.

Three miles along the coast Is the town of pozzuoli.

Here, seismic upheavals Are not just ancient phenomena.

They're still having an effect.

The old harbor is still in use In the early 1980s,

But then over the course of Just a few months,

Volcanic magma forces up The land by more than 6 feet.

The people of pozzuoli Have to rebuild their harbor.

Here, the land has risen up as The magma pushes from beneath,

But the opposite Has happened in baiae,

Where the grass has sunk,

Taking all the luxury villas Down into the mediterranean.

Narrator: A stirring supervolcano slowly Drags baiae beneath the waves,

But it also gives birth To a roman spa town,

Brimming with Giant heated villas!

Who lives here, and what part do They play in the rise of rome?

Narrator: The roman town of baiae: A labyrinth of villas

Drowned by a supervolcano.

Who lives in these lavish Mansions?

Specialist underwater Archaeologist barbara davidde is

On a mission to find out.

Her first step is to map out

And identify each structure On the seabed.

That's a colossal challenge.

The footprint of one villas Covers some 21,000 square feet.

This mansion is built around A giant courtyard

More than 300 feet in length,

Almost the size Of a soccer field.

In its prime, this is the inner Sanctum of a luxurious home

With monumental hallways Bordering lavish gardens,

All fed by an elaborate Freshwater system.

Lead pipes snake Across the area.

In the southern corner,

Archaeologists discover A piece of lead pipe

With a curious marking, "L pisonis," a name.

Is this a tradesman's signature

Or the stamp Of the villa's owner?

Archaeologist ferdinando de Simone investigates.

He believes this mansion belongs To a wealthy aristocratic,

A man called Gaius calpurnius piso.

De simone: piso was one of The most powerful people

In the roman world,

Very prominent In the roman society.

Narrator: Piso is a shadowy figure.

Accounts from the time say He has a luxury villa in baiae.

They also reveal he's The ringleader of a conspiracy

To assassinate The emperor, nero.

Nero was always a wild card,

And the people start Portraying him as a madman,

As a person who could really Threaten the entire empire.

Narrator: The plan is to lure nero

To piso's Seaside villa in baiae.

Here, the conspirators intend To murder the emperor in secret,

But the plot goes Dramatically wrong.

So unfortunately for piso, Nero found out,

And his reaction Was the reaction

You would expect From an emperor.

He basically forced him To commit suicide.

Narrator: This underwater mansion Appears to be piso's villa.

If it is, it's not the only Structure with a dark history.

Baiae is the stage Where roman emperors

Indulge their worst excesses.

The emperor caligula is said To have lined up

Hundreds of ships in baiae.

He rides his horse Across the bay

In an arrogant display of power.

The next emperor, claudius, Dies by poison,

A fate organized by his wife,

Agrippina, plotting From her villa at baiae.

She's murdered by his successor, Her son, nero...

Aah!

Narrator: ...Who sends her Across the bay from baiae

In a boat rigged to sink.

Agrippina Escapes and swims to shore,

Only to be stabbed to death By nero's guards

In her own Luxury courtyard.

Ferdinando Believes that baiae is more

Than just a sumptuous resort.

This coastal town is At the heart of roman power.

De simone: when we think about Roman politics,

We generally picture In our mind roman senators

In the forum Discussing things publicly,

But actually, the majority Of the decisions

Were taken much before behind Curtains in private spaces.

Narrator: baiae is full of Secluded spaces,

Where dark deals are done In shady corners.

De simone: This is a private theater.

There are the stalls, The private boxes,

And you can imagine it populated By senators doing politics.

You can imagine them Gathering little groups,

Whispering, plotting About what to do next,

And this is basically The role that baiae played.

Narrator: Archaeologist barbara davidde Believes

That the underwater ruins Back up this theory.

Almost no public buildings Have been found at baiae.

That's because the public Does not belong here.

Baiae offers a unique glimpse Into a lost world.

This magnificent town Is an emperor's playground.

It reveals how the most Powerful people

In the ancient world live And die behind closed doors.

How do they transform this town

Into the empire's Most exclusive resort?

What is life like inside This roman atlantis?

Narrator: the drowned Roman villas of baiae

Are slowly revealing Their secrets.

Underwater archaeologists Are uncovering a roman sin city,

A place of conspiracy, Collusion, and murder.

For archaeologist Barbara davidde,

This drowned vegas Is a unique opportunity.

It's a chance to pull back The curtain

On some of the most powerful People who ever lived.

Her team uncovers a town Of astonishing beauty.

They painstakingly clean away Layers of sediment

To expose Exquisite mosaic floors.

One mosaic shows a pair Of ancient wrestlers

Locked in combat, But brushing away the silt

Reveals the most Magnificent mosaic of all.

This is an intricate web Of jet-black shields

Right at the heart Of a gigantic lost villa.

[ explosive rumbles ]

More than 10,000 Black-and-white tiles

Make up This dazzling mosaic floor.

Its symmetry and precision

Are the work Of the finest craftsmen.

Beyond, the villa's hallways Are lined with small,

Intimate rooms --

The quarters of prostitutes Ready to serve

The owner's guests,

And nearby, the pillar stacks Of a suspended hypocaust floor

Are the hallmark Of a luxurious private sauna.

This decadent villa is The finest that money can buy.

Why is baiae's wealth off The scale?

Barbara uses the laser system

To scan The precious patterned mosaic.

The technology allows her To analyze its construction

Without disturbing it.

The 3-d model captures Every individual tile

In minute detail.

Barbara sends loose Or broken tiles

To mineralogist Mauro francesco la russa.

He thinks the secret To baiae's wealth

Lies hidden in the fabric Of its buildings.

The crystal structure Of one sample reveals

That it comes From northern italy.

[ speaking italian ]

The pure-white marble of carrara Has been used for centuries

To build italy's Most famous monuments,

But the tiles From baiae's mosaics

Comes from all over the empire.

[ speaking italian ]

The villa's owners ship precious Foreign stone into baiae.

They spare no expense In decorating these mansions.

Baiae's enviable location On the coast

Helps fuel Their insatiable greed.

Two thousand years ago,

The roman empire Is still growing.

Its rulers bring back Countless works of art.

They fill their villas in baiae

With opulent displays of artwork And greek sculptures.

♪♪

Wine pours in from as far east As syria

And as far west as spain,

Served in the dining rooms Of the powerful.

Slaves and exotic animals Are brought from overseas

To entertain In gladiatorial combat.

Baiae's residents Fill their homes

With every luxury imaginable,

But they also Build them to last.

Mauro believes these ruins Survive 1,000 years underwater

Because the builders Use super strength materials:

Concrete and mortars unique To the bay of naples.

[ speaking italian ]

Mauro discovers the secret Of the materials' strength

Using a high-power Electron microscope.

The volcanic rock creates an Incredibly durable material

When mixed with lime.

[ speaking italian ]

Mortar and concrete From baiae aren't just strong.

They even harden underwater.

Archaeologist ferdinando De simone believes

This local wonder material Doesn't just build baiae.

It also transforms the empire.

Rome ships volcanic ash from Baiae across the mediterranean

To construct concrete Ports overseas.

In return, wealth floods Back into this town.

De simone: This is the place where they Really nurtured

How to become an empire.

Narrator: But baiae's elegant villas

Are not the only underwater Ruins in the bay of naples.

Just along the coast lies An enormous concrete labyrinth.

These ruins are vast and rugged.

What are they doing here?

Is there another side To this city in the sea?

Narrator: One hundred and fifty miles Southeast of rome,

Archaeologists are uncovering An underwater pompeii...

Baiae.

Their discoveries reveal A unique town

Studded with Unimaginable riches.

♪♪

This sunken metropolis is A window into a forgotten world,

But much of the seafloor Remains unexplored.

Today, marine archaeologist Barbara davidde and her team

Investigate a stretch of coast Just east of baiae.

[ chatter ]

As the team dives, It's immediately clear

That this is a very different Set of ruins.

Instead of luxury villas, Huge angular structures

And thick walls emerge Out of the murky water,

Covered in centuries of algae.

♪♪

The contrast with baiae's Opulence is huge.

There are no courtyards Or statues here,

Just row upon row Of small boxy rooms.

Their walls are solid blocks Of rough roman concrete

Mixed with ash To give it strength,

And the floors are not mosaics But opus signinum,

Mortar mixed With broken pottery,

To give it a practical And durable covering.

What is this giant maze Of solid concrete?

♪♪

The most unusual features Are a set of large columns

Standing proud on the seafloor.

They're perfectly square And more than 10 feet across.

Barbara believes their presence Suggests this area is a harbor.

Pilae are a crucial component Of roman harbor engineering.

These concrete pillars project Above the water.

They're positioned to shield Jetties,

Breaking the waves that Could damage ships in port.

Why does baiae need such A gigantic harbor next door?

Barbara needs a wider Perspective

To decode large areas Of unmapped archaeology.

She uses a high-definition drone To view the site from above.

From the air, An entire complex is visible.

A series of regular rectangular Structures dominate the seabed.

They appear to be Traders' warehouses,

But barbara believes they aren't Here when the port is built.

This is no merchant harbor.

It's the entrance To an enormous naval base.

This massive port is legendary.

It's named after julius caesar,

The most famous roman In history.

Engineers build this port From two volcanic lakes

That lie behind Baiae's coastline.

They cut huge channels to link The lakes to the open water

And build a massive Concrete breakwater.

The roman fleet based here Can sail out from the harbor

And attack any ships trying To blockade the bay of naples.

Ferdinando de simone believes The creation of portus julius

Supercharges the expansion Of the roman empire.

Within 20 years, a new,

Improved port is built In the bay 4 miles

To the south of baiae And with it:

The infrastructure to support A massive floating army.

This is the piscina mirabilis.

It looks almost like a cathedral With these huge vaults

And this massive construction,

But actually, This is a reservoir,

The largest reservoir that The romans have ever built.

Narrator: The reservoir is capable Of holding up to 3 million

Gallons of drinking water.

It's enough to supply a fleet Of 250 vessels.

For ferdinando, it's evidence That the bay is home

To a formidable Military machine.

This was a central point For keeping control

Over the western mediterranean.

Narrator: Baiae's mighty naval base

Doesn't just protect Its wealthy residents.

This hulking megastructure Transforms

The entire roman world.

Baiae is key to the empire's Rapid expansion.

It changes the course Of civilization,

But how could a small town Of luxury villas

Be the engine Of the roman empire?

Is there more to baiae Than meets the eye?

Narrator: The sunken town of baiae

Is transforming How we see ancient rome.

It's home to some of The richest people in history

And next to An enormous naval base.

Is baiae actually just A tiny part

Of a vast forgotten metropolis?

Marine archaeologist barbara Davidde is making one more dive.

She's slowly piecing together The town's true extent.

Twenty feet below the surface,

She enters an incredible Drowned room.

♪♪

It's part of a palace that Belongs to the emperor claudius.

Fish swim between statues Of gods and heroes

Encrusted with sea urchins.

[ rumbling ]

Two thousand years ago, These fine sculptures stand

Proudly along the walls Of a fantastic dining room.

[ rumbling ]

In the center is a huge Saltwater pool.

It's a banquet table For floating dishes of food.

At the head of the room, A magnificent centerpiece:

Three imposing statues Recreate a famous greek myth.

The hero ulysses stands With his comrade, baius,

After whom the town is named.

They're prisoners Of the legendary cyclops,

The mythical one-eyed beast.

The underwater team Carefully measures

And photographs Each individual statue.

In roman times, This fantastical grotto

Is the emperor's Private pleasure chamber.

It's famous across the empire.

Archaeologist Ferdinando de simone thinks

An ancient picture Of the cyclops' grotto

Can help reconstruct baiae's Lost coastline.

De simone: well, this is a Drawing of a shard of glass,

Which belonged to a flask, A bottle,

And here is depicted ulysses,

Who's giving a cup of wine To the cyclops

In order to made him drunk So that he can escape the cave.

Narrator: The shard is part of a small Collection of engraved vessels

That portray The buildings of baiae.

Each flask shows a slightly Different picture of the town.

But alongside the buildings Of baiae,

On every flask Is another structure:

An imposing system of arches.

Ferdinando Believes it's a vast jetty.

De simone: this is a pier Where ships would've docked.

You can imagine this structure Going into the sea,

But actually, this wasn't here With the baths in the villas.

It was on the other side Of the bay.

Narrator: The trade harbor that puts baiae

At the center Of rome's mediterranean

Network is 3 miles away in A neighborhood called puteoli:

Modern-day pozzuoli.

During the 1st century bc And the years afterwards,

Puteoli was the most important Harbor of the roman empire.

Here was really the heart Of the roman economy.

Narrator: As rome grows, there are Evermore mouths to feed.

They must import food From across the empire.

The nearest port at ostia Is too shallow,

But across the bay from baiae,

Puteoli is a natural Deepwater harbor.

Huge ships can dock And unload tons of grain,

Which is shipped up to ostia And rome in smaller boats.

[ chatter ]

The port at puteoli Keeps rome's

Growing population Fed and happy.

Today, puteoli and baiae Are separate towns.

Ferdinando thinks that 2,000 years ago, they are one.

His investigations reveal A lost cityscape

Stretching across The entire coastline.

This bay is rome's second city.

It stretches from the grand Villas of baiae,

Now lost beneath the waves, To the thriving jetties

And warehouses along the coast

And the mighty naval base That guards it all.

Baiae is the cornerstone Of the roman empire.

But could the same forces that Help build this civilization

One day bring our world To its knees?

Narrator: Archaeologists are discovering That the town of baiae

Is much more than a resort For rome's elite.

It's one part of A mediterranean megacity

That builds The roman empire.

But could the same forces That sink baiae one day

Bring the modern world to ruin?

Archaeologists work out That the volcano

Drags baiae even Deeper underwater.

By 800 ad, the town sits several Feet below modern levels.

Baiae has been slowly emerging

From its watery grave Ever since.

For geologist guido giordano, It's an ominous sign.

Giordano: Baiae is rebounding.

The crust beneath Is slowly rising.

It's coming back up.

Narrator: Baiae's drowned villas Are being thrust upwards

Because magma Is building up below.

The supervolcano is waking up, And if campi flegrei explodes,

It could make the eruption That buried pompeii

Look like nothing More than a campfire.

Guido believes that to Predict a supervolcano's future,

You have to study its past.

He examines rocks campi Flegrei deposits

Thousands of years ago.

Giordano: let's go.

He melts hundreds of samples Back down to magma.

It means he can study the rock In its original state:

Inside the volcano.

The thicker the magma, The more explosive the eruption.

Samples from a 10,000-year-old Deposit are too thick to flow.

So does it flow at all, ale?

No.No?

Not even at 1,500 celsius degrees.

Wow.

So this molten rock Doesn't flow.

It's very, very thick.

Under the enormous pressure Of a volcanic eruption,

The magma would not flow.

It would actually break up, Producing an explosive eruption

Rather than a lava flow.

Narrator: This sample comes from the Crater directly beneath baiae.

Guido's team analyzes dozens Of samples from this event.

From the data, he can Piece together

The eruption's progression.

Giordano: When we analyze many samples From this eruption,

We've found there Wasn't just one eruption.

There were actually two: One after the other.

The eruption of the first one

Released the pressure On the second

And allowed The next eruption to occur.

Narrator: A double eruption suggests That beneath baiae,

There is more than One magma chamber

Or a series of chambers All connected.

A complex network Of magma reservoirs

Could be very bad news.

A small eruption might destroy Much of the bay of naples,

But if it sets off a chain Reaction, where could that lead?

The largest eruption Of campi flegrei

Occurred about 40,000 years ago

When these super eruption blew Out ash all over the continent.

The change in climate Is considered responsible

By many scientists for the Decline of the neanderthal

And the replacement With modern humans.

You can imagine how catastrophic An eruption of these size

Could be If it happened in modern times.

Narrator: The volcanic forces that bring Baiae to ruin remain a threat.

One day, they could even Bring down modern civilization.

Baiae is far more than An archaeological curiosity.

This forgotten metropolis Is the power behind rome.

It transforms this mighty Civilization

Into the superpower Of the ancient world.

De simone: Before coming to this area, Rome was still one of

The smaller players In the mediterranean.

This entire region provided So many goods

And natural facilities That really helped rome to grow.

[ speaking italian ]

This was not just a playground For roman emperors.

This is the place where The roman economy

And politics was made.

♪♪

Narrator: A new story is emerging

From the shallow waters Of the mediterranean.

Baiae is forgotten by history.

Today, it is swallowed By the sea,

But this metropolis changes The course of civilization.

Baiae is the town That builds rome,

The ancient world's Most successful empire.

[ rumbling ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪