Scientists Just Found A Road In The Ocean
Divers found an ancient road off Croatia's shore connected to an underwater settlement.
If you’re looking to take a road trip down Ocean Avenue, you may finally have the chance to do so, courtesy of a few ancient contractors and a deep-sea expedition. According to a write-up in IFL Science, a team of explorers have uncovered a 7,000-year-old road, made of carefully layered slabs of stone, submerged deep within the Mediterranean Sea, proving that all roads do in fact lead to Rome. Scientists have begun to excavate the ruins, which were buried under layers of thick mud, with no word yet from Aquaman or the Little Mermaid as to whether the ocean road was ever scheduled for aquatic use.
Archaeologists performing research for the University of Zadar in Croatia first started searching for the submerged ocean road after noticing unusual activity on the Mediterranean seabed via satellite imaging. After donning their finest Titanic recovery SCUBA suits, the team ventured into the depths of the Adriatic Sea to first uncover what appeared to be walls of an ancient Hvar settlement.
Hvar is a Croatian island once owned by the Roman Empire, whose high limestone walls and natural freshwater springs have long made the island a hot commodity for empires seeking to gain control of the region.
The hypothesis of the ocean road’s Hvar origins seemed to be confirmed when archaeologists located a number of other stone artifacts, including millstone fragments, stone axes, and flint blades, during the excavation process. The road is said to have been dry and usable as of its construction over 7,000 years ago when the Hvar population of the Neolithic era built the road to connect the Croatian islands of Soline and Korčula. Further studies of the ancient ecosystem seem to reveal that a similar road was discovered years ago on the opposite side of Korčula, near Gradina Bay.
With the duel structures each serving to connect Croatian islands to the mainland, it seems as though ancient cultures were making great use of these roads to migrate vast distances across the Adriatic Sea. Though the ocean has now reclaimed both roads to the depths, it’s interesting imagining what the landscape of Croatia would look like if the structures had been maintained.
While many viewers may not realize, the Croatian coast has long been featured in a number of popular television series and films, standing in for the desert planet of Cantonica in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and several key locations such as King’s Landing in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
The ocean road spans roughly 13 feet wide, making it much more akin to the size of a hallway than our modern understanding of roads built for automobiles. The structure sits over two fathoms beneath the surface of the Adriatic Sea, though researchers have been hard at work excavating the road in order to study its construction and condition further. Scientists have credited the many small islands dotting the Croatian coast for preserving submerged structures due to their ability to prevent large waves from penetrating the interior of the Sea.
