17 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists identify a sunken Nabataean temple dedicated to the God Dusares at Pozzuoli

Off the coast of Pozzuoli on the Phlegrean Peninsula in Campania, Italy, underwater archaeologists have identified a sunken Nabataeans temple with the discovery of two Roman marble altars.

The Nabataean kingdom was a Roman ally that ruled a territory stretching from the Euphrates to the Red Sea during the Roman period. The kingdom, centered on the capital city of Petra, was stationed in the desert areas of the Arabian Peninsula, but had, since the early imperial age, established its base inside the Pozzuoli port, the largest commercial port of the Roman Mediterranean.

The Nabataeans established a base at Puteoli and constructed a shrine dedicated to the tutelary god, Dusares.

Amid the ruins of the ancient city of Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli), close to the columnade known as Tempio delle Ninfe, an altar and two cult bases bearing the inscription DVSARI SACRVM (‘Holy to Dusares’) were discovered in the middle of the 18th century. It was immediately clear that Nabataeans had once lived in Peteoli because Dusares was a deity that was exclusive to the Nabataeans. The Archaeological Museum of Naples currently has the altar and bases on display. At the same time, a massive bust of a god that is now housed in the Vatican Museum and has been theorized to be the Nabataean god Dusares was discovered in the vicinity of Puteoli.

Photo: Ministero della cultura
Photo: Ministero della cultura

The location of the reference sanctuary remained approximate, today identified with precision topographical instruments that have allowed the Temple to be inserted into the broader topographical framework of the vicus Lartidianus.

The discovery of the altars, similar to the one kept in the Castello di Baia, is part of a fruitful research activity that will begin at the end of 2021, as part of an agreement between the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the Metropolitan Area of Naples and the University of Campania Vanvitelli, with the involvement of the Scuola Superiore Meridionale for the coordination of underwater activities, and with the valuable logistici.

God Dusares
God Dusares.

Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, said: “Ancient Puteoli reveals another of its treasures which testifies to the richness and vastness of commercial, cultural and religious exchanges in the Mediterranean basin in the ancient world.”

In addition to the correct positioning of the Temple, the research has enabled the identification of rooms, warehouses, imperial administration buildings, and road axes of the ancient port.

Related Articles

9 Synagogues in Izmir to Reopen as Museum

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

As part of a Jewish heritage project in Izmir, Turkey, nine historic synagogues will be reopened as museums. Built by...

Archaeologists Discovered a Mysterious Ancient Bone Floor in Alkmaar, the Netherlands

16 December 2024

16 December 2024

Archaeologists found a part of a floor made of animal bones in Alkmaar, North Holland, the Netherlands. Experts are intrigued...

An ancient necropolis and coins discovered in Kastel Fortress, a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina

11 November 2024

11 November 2024

During excavations at Kastel Fortress, the national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina, students and professors of Archaeology and History found...

Getting to Know Matar Kubilea

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hittite state’s, With its collapse in 1200-1190 BC, Anatolia entered a period of drift from holistic to dispersal. (The Hittite...

Who really fought in the Battle of Himera? Researchers found the answer to the question

14 May 2021

14 May 2021

According to the Ancient Greek Historians, victory over the Carthaginians in the Battle of Himera was won by the alliance...

Portugal’s Enigmatic Roman Building “Tower of Centum Cellas”

4 February 2024

4 February 2024

The Tower of Centum Cellas (also known as the “Tower of St. Cornelius”), located in the Mount of Santo Antão...

Explore 1,400-year-old ruins, submerged in Eastern China – Atlantis of China

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Deep in Qiandao Lake, between China’s Five Lion Mountains, lie the mysterious ruins of two ancient cities, dating back to...

Tens of Thousands of Ancient Bronze Coins Dating from the 4th Century Discovered Off Sardinia

4 November 2023

4 November 2023 1

A diver spotted something metallic at the bottom of the sea off the town of Arzachena in the Sassari province...

The Legacy of the Double-Headed Eagle: From Hittite Kings to Modern Icons

25 June 2025

25 June 2025

The double-headed eagle is one of the most enduring symbols in human history. Recognized today as an emblem of imperial...

Negev desert archaeological site offers important clues about modern human origin

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

The archaeological excavation site at Boker Tachtit in Israel’s central Negev desert offers evidence to one of human history’s most...

Mummy of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep ‘unwrapped’ for the first time in 3,500 years!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Egyptian scientists have digitally unwrapped the 3,500-year-old mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I. For the first time, a team in Egypt...

Builders of Massive 6000-year-old Menga Dolmen Likely Understood Geometry and other “Early Science” Concepts

25 August 2024

25 August 2024

Researchers say that a new analysis of the 6000-year-old stone Menga (also known as the Dolmen of Menga), supported by...

7,800-year-old female figurine discovered in Ulucak Höyük in western Turkey

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

A 7,800-year-old female figurine was found in the Ulucak Höyük (Ulucak Mound) in the Kemalpaşa district of Izmir. It was...

Archaeologists Use Song to Unveil the Legendary End of West Africa’s Kaabu Kingdom

19 March 2025

19 March 2025

As the archaeological discoveries at Kansala, located in present-day Guinea-Bissau, reveal the tangible remnants of the once-mighty Kaabu Kingdom, the...

Researchers solve the mystery of Mayan 819-day calendar

24 April 2023

24 April 2023

Researchers at Tulane University in Louisiana have solved the mystery of the 819-day ancient Mesoamerican calendar used by ancient Mayans....