In a significant archaeological find, the fishing vessel Attila II recovered two intact Roman-era ‘dolia’ yesterday from the waters off the coast of Gaeta. This marks the second such discovery for the boat, which in 2017 hauled in two other large food storage containers from its nets. These latest jars, each approximately two meters tall, date back to the 1st or 2nd century AD and were used by the Romans to store large quantities of solid goods like grain, as well as liquids such as wine and oil.
Authorities suggest the fishing boat’s route may have crossed that of an ancient Roman merchant vessel, which was transporting its cargo of oil and wine stored in dolia across the Mediterranean before losing part of its load overboard. The entire operation to bring the ancient jars ashore was overseen by the Italian Coast Guard and the City of Gaeta, with Mayor Cristian Leccese present.
“Throughout the afternoon, I was in contact with the Archaeological Superintendency, which once again guided us on the correct procedures for these initial phases,” stated Mayor Leccese. “They will soon come to Gaeta for direct coordination. I will ask them to assign these two dolia to our community as a testament to the role of the Gulf of Gaeta in ancient maritime trade, so they may be exhibited alongside the previous two finds in our museum for proper cultural enrichment.”
The mayor also dedicated the discovery to the late commander Giacomo Spinosa, who passed away approximately two weeks ago. It was Spinosa who, in March 2017, commanded the Attila II during the recovery of the first two precious dolia, which are now housed in the Museum of the Sea on Via Annunziata. The new find was made by his son, Gianluca, who now commands the same fishing boat.