The Ancient Underwater Road Scientists Found In The Ocean

Divers found an ancient road off Croatia’s shore connected to an underwater settlement.

By TeeJay Small
| Published 21 seconds ago

If you’re looking to take a road trip down Ocean Avenue, you may finally have the chance to do so, courtesy of a few ancient contractors and a deep-sea expedition. In 2023, a team of explorers uncovered a 7,000-year-old road, made of carefully layered slabs of stone, submerged deep within the Mediterranean Sea, proving that all roads do, in fact, lead to Rome.

Scientists have been hard at work excavating the ruins, which were buried under layers of thick mud. No word yet from Aquaman or the Little Mermaid as to whether the ocean road was ever scheduled for aquatic use.

How The Road Was Found

Archaeologists conducting research for the University of Zadar in Croatia first began searching for the submerged ocean road after noticing unusual activity on the Mediterranean seabed via satellite imagery. After donning their finest Titanic recovery SCUBA suits, the team ventured into the depths of the Adriatic Sea to first uncover what appeared to be walls of an ancient Hvar settlement.

Hvar is a Croatian island once owned by the Roman Empire, whose high limestone walls and natural freshwater springs have long made the island a hot commodity for empires seeking to gain control of the region.

Where The Road Was Going And How It Was Used

The hypothesis of the ocean road’s Hvar origins seemed to be confirmed when archaeologists found a number of other stone artifacts, including millstone fragments, stone axes, and flint blades, during the excavation. The road is said to have been dry and usable as of its construction over 7,000 years ago, when the Hvar population of the Neolithic era built the road to connect the Croatian islands of Soline and Korčula. Further studies of the ancient ecosystem suggest that a similar road was discovered years ago on the opposite side of Korčula, near Gradina Bay.

With the dual structures, each serving to connect Croatian islands to the mainland, it seems as though ancient cultures were making great use of these roads to migrate vast distances across the Adriatic Sea. Though the ocean has now reclaimed both roads to the depths, it’s interesting imagining what the landscape of Croatia would look like if the structures had been maintained.

The ocean road is roughly 13 feet wide, making it much more akin to a hallway than to a modern road built for automobiles. The structure sits at a depth of two fathoms beneath the surface of the Adriatic Sea, though researchers have been hard at work excavating the road to further study its construction and condition.

Scientists have credited the many small islands dotting the Croatian coast for preserving submerged structures by preventing large waves from penetrating the interior of the Sea.

The Croatian Coast In Game Of Thrones

While many viewers may not realize it, the Croatian coast has long been featured in a number of popular television series and films, standing in for the desert planet of Cantonica in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and several key locations such as King’s Landing in HBO’s Game of Thrones.