What lies beneath are the most beautiful things like the 2,000 year old ancient temple built for the Nabataean God Dushara who is known as the “Lord of the Mountains”.

Archaeologists with the University of Campania Vanvitelli and Scuola Superiore Meridionale found the ancient temple resting off the coast of Pozzuoli, Italy, in the waters of the Bay of Naples.

Finestre sull Arte quoted Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano as saying about the discovery of the 2,000 year old Nabatean temple in the Bay of Naples, “This is an extraordinary result, the result of collaboration between the peripheral organs of the Ministry of Culture, the academic and scientific realities of the area and the Carabinieri’s underwater unit in Naples. Ancient Puteoli reveals another of its treasures, the exact location of which was hitherto unknown, testifying to the wealth and breadth of commercial, cultural and religious exchanges in the Mediterranean basin in the ancient world. Rome’s past never ceases to amaze, and I am happy that this is happening on the National Day of the Sea, which could not have had a better celebration.”

The National Day of the Sea is a day that Italy recognizes every year, on April 11. The purpose of the National Day of Sea is to educate individuals about the role the sea plays in people’s lives. For instance, due to the Nabataeans being expert traders in such goods as perfumes, Frankincense and myrrh, and spices, they formed a partnership with the Roman Empire that resulted in the Nabataeans setting up shop in Rome’s busiest port city, Puteoli. Little did the Nabataeans know, those Romans were sneaky lil’ devils. And like all sneaky little devils, the Romans started off nice and then ended up not so nice.

In 106 AD, the Roman army invaded the Nabataeans’ capital, Petra. Once the Romans took the capital, they began the process of erasing everything having to do with the Nabataeans. Everything from the capital’s name, which was changed from Petra to Arabia Petraea, to the Nabataeans’ religion were given the ol’ Roman makeover. The government, economy, education, religion, and the all around Nabataean culture was Romanize.

Having said that, it is not certain how the 2,000 year old Nabataean temple to Dushara, “The Lord of the Mountains”, ended up in the Bay of Naples. An earthquake could’ve shook the ground so that it knocked the temple off its foundation into the water or the Romans could’ve knocked the temple into the water themselves so that they could make room for their god, Jupiter.

However the 2,000 year old Nabataean temple to Dushara, “The Lord of the Mountains,” ended up in the Bay of Naples, the one thing that is for sure is the archaeologists with the University of Campania Vanvitelli and Scuola Superiore Meridionale will find out what happened after studying the temple’s remains for about 1, 2, 5, or 10 years.