New Data from Integrated Geophysical and Archaeological Investigations in the Baia Marine Protected Area and Submerged Park, Pozzuoli Bay, Italy

In this work, we use ultra-high resolution marine geophysical investigations and underwater archaeological data to characterize and map the seabed and shallow subseafloor built and natural environment features in the Baia submerged park (Pozzuoli Bay, Italy). The selected case study is part of an active volcanic complex, the Campi Flegrei caldera, which is characterized by frequent earthquakes, hydrothermal manifestations and short- term deformations of slow uplift and subsidence in the range of several meters to several tens of meters, known as "Bradyseism". Consequently, Roman artifacts and structures dating from 1st century BC to 4th century AC, including Villas, luxury buildings and landing ports are now below the seawater surface up to a depth of ca. -15 m, and partly buried within marine sediments. In this area, the occurrence of marine habitats of community importance coexisting with the above-mentioned submerged archaeological remains led to the establishment of the Baia Marine Protected Area (MPA). This is of particular relevance as it recognizes de facto the importance of the interrelations between cultural and natural resources in marine setting. Marine geophysical investigations included ultra-high resolution swath bathymetry and parametric sub-bottom profiler investigations. Preliminary results include a map of the Pisoni's Villa and surroundings (area A of the Baia MPA) based on a grid with a bin size of 10 cm and, for the first time, a detailed (decimeter-level) imaging of the subseafloor stratigraphic organization of the submerged archaeological area. In particular, buried artificial structures including possible dock areas and piers, and palaeotopographies were detected in the upper layers of the subseafloor while swath bathymetry data revealed new seabed archaeological structures. Future investigations include ground truth archaeological and benthic data. The main aim of this integrated approach is to implement non-destructive methods for the preservation and monitoring of the archaeological setting and associated environmental features in the Baia MPA.