For years archaeologists believed the structures they saw underwater were merely remains of a submerged ancient port. But recent examinations are debunking those beliefs, instead calling the area, at the bottom of the Aegean sea, an ‘underwater Pompeii’.
It is only about six feet underwater, just off the coast of Delos. Here researchers were actually able to discover a terracotta workshop with 16 pots and the remains of what was once a kiln. There are more structures too, walls that extend the shoreline and colonnades can be seen.
They suspect the area was part of a settlement and has remained hidden just off the coast for centuries. No-one is quite sure of the cause for the demise of the underwater area.
The island of Delos itself was once the centre for an ancient slave trade, but remained shrouded in cultish mystery and customs which prevented anyone from dying or giving birth on the island. It became deserted around 5AD due to pirate activity, and eventually the building materials from houses on land were pillaged for nearby communities.