Submerged Roman bathhouse found at Portus Julius may be Cicero's

Italian archaeologists have documented an ancient Roman bathhouse found submerged in Portus Julius that officials say may belong to Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator.

The Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park announced the discovery in a translated Aug. 6 post. The thermal complex, first identified in 2023 and only recently fully documented, lies roughly 10 feet beneath the surface and predates the conversion of the area into a naval base in 37 B.C., park officials said.

Park researchers said preliminary study of the structure and comparison with historical records make it plausible that the baths were part of Cicero’s villa. "Current research suggests that we may be looking at the baths of Cicero’s villa, known from historical sources," the statement said. Cicero lived from 106 B.C. to 43 B.C. and is remembered for his speeches, political role in the late Republic and translations of Greek philosophical works into Latin.

Excavators highlighted the bathhouse’s advanced thermal engineering. The complex retains elements of a suspensurae system, a raised floor construction that allowed mosaic surfaces to be heated from below. Officials also noted tubular structures running along the walls that channeled hot air, creating a heated room described in the statement as a laconicum, comparable to a sauna.

Archaeologists reported recovery of ceramic materials they described as "of particular importance," which may help determine construction techniques and the cause of the site’s submersion and damage. Work will continue through the autumn with restoration focused on a mosaic floor partly encrusted with mortar remnants and on small, significant traces of wall paintings, the park said.

Portus Julius was the first permanent Roman naval base, and the newly documented baths appear to have been built before the area's naval development in the late first century B.C. Researchers said the find adds to understanding of elite villa complexes and Roman thermal architecture along Italy’s coasts, where fluctuating sea levels and volcanic activity have submerged or altered ancient shorelines.

The park’s announcement situates the discovery within a broader pattern of recent finds. In recent years archaeologists have uncovered well-preserved Roman bathhouses in Turkey and a repurposed bath complex that served as a baptistery along Rome’s Appian Way, underscoring both the ubiquity and variety of thermal architecture in the Roman world.

Officials said further analysis of ceramics and structural elements will inform dating, construction methods and the sequence of events that left the complex underwater. Conservation teams will proceed with mosaic cleaning and structural stabilization while specialists examine recovered materials to refine the site's chronology and historical attribution. Documentation of the site, officials said, will continue to be shared as research progresses.