Saturday, September 02, 2017

Discovery of submerged Neapolis with a dash of garum

Art Daily reports that vast underwater Roman ruins have been discovered off the coast near Nabeul in northeast Tunisia, apparently confirming a theory that the city of Roman city of Neapolis was partly submerged by a large tsunami in the 365. BCE. Other remains of Neapolis dot the ground in Nabeul.

"It's a major discovery," Mounir Fantar, the head of a Tunisian-Italian archaeological mission which made the find off the coast of Nabeul, told AFP.

He said an underwater expedition had found streets, monuments and around 100 tanks used to produce garum, a fermented fish-based condiment that was a favourite of ancient Rome.

My knowledge of Roman foods is fairly limited. I hadn't realised that garum was so popular or such a major trade item. The Wikipedia article on garum provides some fascinating material on its preparation and use.

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