In the southeast of Rome, in a huge crater of an ancient extinct volcano, there are two lakes: Albano and Nemi.
Lake Nemi is located at an altitude of 300 m above sea level. Through the centuries, legends have reached that huge ships sailed in this lake, which were built by the emperor Caligula. Three ships were built. The first attempts to confirm the legends and explore the bottom of the lake were in the middle of the 15th century. And immediately at the bottom was found a ship 71 m long and 24 wide. It was not possible to lift it.
This did not work out even in the 19th century. the British. But they removed the bronze elements from the ship. They raised gold ornaments and marble ornaments to the surface. Everything was sold to British museums. And the locals then used hooks to break out the elements of the ship and sell them to tourists.
Bronze heads found on a sunken ship:
Promotional video:
At the beginning of the 20th century. underwater archaeologists have found another vessel in the lake: 60 m long and 20 m wide. It turned out to be a floating palace (like the first ship): marble columns, floors and statues were found on it.
In 1927 Mussolini decided to raise ships. For this, the lake was partially drained and the researchers saw the following picture:
The silt around the ship was cleared and it was dragged into a special hangar.
A canal-tunnel was also found, through which water from the lake was drained when it overflowed. As for the ships, it was found that the hull was sheathed with triple lead plating:
The remains of the lead plating are still visible in this photo. The nails were treated with some kind of anti-corrosion compound and survived:
An exhibit from the museum.
The large ship had room for rowers, but the smaller one did not. To raise the armature, a crank mechanism was used and there was a complex pump for pumping water out of the hold. Also on the large ship there was a platform that could rotate on a mechanism resembling a large bearing (rolled on bronze balls):
Scientists still do not know what revolved on this platform.
Marble columns from the ship, steering oar and other artifacts.
Ceramic pipes for underfloor heating on a ship. They also found a bronze tap to regulate the flow of warm water. Although the ships were displayed in hangars, they were burned during the Second World War.
In general, at that time, these ships were highly technological buildings. Scientists continue to search for the third, largest vessel using echo sounders. The depth of the lake is 34 m and it is not so easy for divers to visually find even a ship's skeleton in the muddy water.
It is interesting that the ships, after they fell into disrepair, were not partially dismantled and their elements, metal, columns for ground structures were used. Why were they flooded with all the valuable elements? Or they were flooded by a cataclysm that destroyed the Roman Empire.
Author: Sibved