27 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Traces of Pozzolan Dust from Phlegraean Fields Found in a 1st-Century Roman Hydraulic Structure Submerged in Venetian Lagoon

In the San Felice Canal, in the northern Venetian Lagoon, a material used as an additive in Roman concrete was discovered: pulvis puteolana, a volcanic ash from the Phlegraean Fields near Naples.

Researchers from the University of Padua, the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia collaborated to document this discovery, which was published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

Researchers from the University of Padua detected the utterly unexpected presence of volcanic pumice from the Phlegraean Fields in Naples by analyzing samples of the mortars used to coat and bind the Roman well-cistern (1st c. CE), which is currently submerged more than three meters deep in the northern portion of the Venetian lagoon.

This material is described in detail by architects and treatise writers Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder as a powder (pulvis) with extraordinary properties, enabling ancient mortars and concretes to solidify in anaerobic environments and even underwater. Extracted from the area around ancient Pozzuoli (Puteoli), Latin authors recommended its use in the construction of port infrastructures made of concrete poured directly into the sea. 1,800 years before the discovery of Portland cement, pulvis puteolana gave ancient concretes exceptional resistance to structural loads, weathering, and the aggressive submerged environment, ensuring extraordinary durability that has recently revived the “myth” of Roman concrete.

The remains of the submerged "Venetian well," documented thanks to underwater 3D surveys, and the mortar samples collected. Image Credit: University of Padua
The remains of the submerged “Venetian well,” documented thanks to underwater 3D surveys, and the mortar samples collected. Image Credit: University of Padua

The research sheds light on advanced Roman construction techniques and the commercial dynamics of the Mediterranean.

The subject of study is a 1st-century CE Roman hydraulic structure, considered a precursor to the “Venetian wells,” designed to capture and store fresh water.

The Venetian-style well is a hydraulic structure used since Roman times in the Upper Adriatic territories for the collection and storage of fresh water, which we have been able to document and study underwater, thanks also to innovative photogrammetric technologies, add Carlo Beltrame and Elisa Costa, a professor and a researcher from the Department of Humanities at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and authors of the underwater studies conducted under a permit from the Ministry of Culture, with the oversight of the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio of the Municipality of Venice and the Lagoon.

Advanced laboratory technologies have made it possible to perform sophisticated microscopic and geochemical analyses on rocks and minerals, even when they have been finely ground into a micrometric-sized powder. These analyses were never performed on archaeological materials until a few years ago, but they have made it possible to determine the origin of the pulvis.

“The fingerprint of the volcanic pulvis,” emphasizes Tommaso Giovanardi, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, “was traced thanks to ultra-high-resolution instruments, such as Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, which allow us to obtain extremely detailed geochemical data even on very tiny fragments of geological material.”

Highlighted are the clasts of pulvis puteolana included in the mortar samples and analyzed with geochemical investigations. Image Credit: University of Padua
Highlighted are the clasts of pulvis puteolana included in the mortar samples and analyzed with geochemical investigations. Image Credit: University of Padua

The profile of these small inclusions was then compared with a vast reference database created by researchers from the Departments of Cultural Heritage and Geosciences at the University of Padua, which gathers the compositional profiles of over 1,000 geological samples of compatible volcanic products. Through the comparison of chemical tracers, the compatibility with the volcanic dust from Campania was unequivocally certified.

Lastly, the study highlights the remarkable originality with which the Venetian ancestors adapted the prominent Vitruvian architectural forms to the unique architectural and environmental requirements of the Lagoon in its delicate balance between water and land, while also highlighting the close ties between Northern Italy and the most advanced Roman engineering knowledge.

University of Padua

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313917

Cover Image: Wikipedia Commons

Related Articles

Serbian Archaeologists Unearth Roman Triumphal Arch Dedicated to Emperor Caracalla

24 January 2024

24 January 2024

Archaeologists in Serbia have unearthed an ancient Roman triumphal arch dating back to the third century at Viminacium, a Roman...

The Oldest Known Carvel-Built Shipwreck in the Nordic Region Found

6 March 2025

6 March 2025

Maritime archaeologists from the Museum of Wrecks (Vrak) in Stockholm have made a groundbreaking discovery off the coast of Sweden:...

A stone bathtub, which is considered to be the first example of ‘water birth’, was found in Ani Ruins

7 September 2022

7 September 2022

A stone tub was found in the large bath, whose birth was mentioned in a work by the Turkish scholar...

Giant handaxe discovered at Ice Age site in Kent, UK

8 July 2023

8 July 2023

Researchers in Kent in southeastern England have discovered a prehistoric handaxe so big it would have been almost impossible to...

Archaeologists unearth 600,000-year-old evidence of Britain’s early inhabitants

22 June 2022

22 June 2022

New finds have indicated that some of Britain’s earliest people lived in the Canterbury suburbs. According to the research, led...

Archaeologists Discovered 8th-century BC Settlement in Uzbekistan

25 June 2024

25 June 2024

A team of Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists discovered an ancient settlement dating back to the 8th century BC in Uzbekistan,...

Gladiators’ ancient hygiene tools on exhibit in Izmir

22 July 2021

22 July 2021

Turkey’s Izmir Archaeological Museum is hosting a different exhibition this month. A bronze strigil is the museum’s guest this month...

The Old Fisherman Founded the Turkish Sea Creatures Museum

26 March 2021

26 March 2021

The sea gives another life to man, sometimes love, sometimes a disappointment, often a longing. The sea is reminiscent of...

Hima, a rock art site in Saudi Arabia, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List

24 July 2021

24 July 2021

The rock art site Hima in Najran has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the sixth registered...

In Poland, a 45-meter-long mysterious tunnel found under the ruins of the Saxon Palace

9 September 2023

9 September 2023

A mysterious underground tunnel was found under the ruins of the Saski Palace in Pilsudski Square in Warsaw, the capital...

Al-Aqiser Church, Disappears in the Depths of The Iraqi Desert

10 May 2021

10 May 2021

In a country that has been devastated by successive conflicts and economic crises, Al-Aqiser, like the numerous Christian, Islamic and...

Stone reliefs describing the Persian-Greek wars were found in the ancient city of Daskyleion in northwestern Turkey

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

A relief depicting a fifth-century BC battle between the Greeks and Persians was discovered in the ancient city of Dascylium...

A Small Sandstone Carved With A Viking Ship May Be Oldest Picture Ever Found In Iceland

16 June 2023

16 June 2023

Archaeologists in East Iceland have found a sandstone carved with a Viking ship that may be the oldest picture ever...

High-status Macedonian tomb discovered in ancient Aegae, Central Macedonia

2 April 2024

2 April 2024

In the ancient city of Aegae (present-day Vergina) in Imathia, Central Macedonia, during the construction of the sewerage network, tomb...

Metal Detectorist Finds on 4,000-year-old Dagger in Poland Forests

24 February 2024

24 February 2024

A copper dagger more than 4,000 years old was found in a forest near the town of Jarosław on the...