بقلم Margarita Johnson · نُشر في 2026-02-05
The new year began with Storm Harry sweeping across Tunisia’s Mediterranean coastline, reshaping the coastline و disturbing layers of sand that had settled undisturbed for centuries. Local observers و archaeologists in the days after the storm observed a rare و unmistakable historical event: portions of the ancient city of نيابوليس submerged beneath the shallow waters near modern-day Nabeul.
نيابوليس was an ancient بوني city, later acquired by the Romans, conveniently positioned within Mediterranean trade networks. In the 4th century CE, according to late Roman historical accounts, a catastrophic tsunami devastated large parts of the North African coastline. Archaeological studies have consistently shown that نيابوليس simply collapsed into the sea during this event, leaving buildings, streets, و people submerged offshore. Over time, marine sediment concealed these remains, making them invisible to the professional eye, until Storm Harry recently revealed parts of that city. Powerful waves, stormy weather, و coastal erosion stripped away the sediment, revealing stone blocks, wall alignments, و traces of urban infrastructure rarely seen so clearly.
Early 2026 hasn’t stopped surprising us, و extreme weather conditions can not only be devastating but also create short-lived documentation opportunities for cultural heritage. During that narrow window, TanitXR successfully obtained a splat capture of a newly exposed area of the site. The brand new digital recording allowed the team to preserve the spatial depth, texture, و structural relationships of the ruins at a precise moment in time. Although coastal processes continue to reshape the site, the remains have not yet been fully reclaimed by the sea, creating ongoing opportunities for observation و research. At the same time, TanitXR’s captured data preserves this rare moment of public exposure.
Storms like Storm Harry increase the vulnerability of coastal و submerged archaeological sites to climate-driven extremes. However, from archaeological و preservation perspectives, they highlight the growing importance of digital documentation. Through methods such as splat capture, TanitXR transforms history into enduring records for the public conservation of heritage و memories of people long gone. نيابوليس now exists simultaneously as a visible coastal archaeological site و within a digital archive. What the sea revealed during the storms remains observable today, allowing this ancient city to inform ongoing research, education, و cultural memory beyond the storms.
جديد نيابوليس ruins scanned by Youssef Lakdhar
References:
LacusCurtius • Ammianus Marcellinus, Book XXVI. (n.d.). https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/26*.html
Catalogue of earthquakes و tsunamis in the Mediterranean area from the 11th to the 15th century : Guidoboni, Emanuela : Free Download, Borrow, و Streaming : Internet Archive. (2005). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/catalogueofearth0000guid
Romeartlover. (n.d.). نيابوليس (Nabeul), an ancient Roman town in today’s Tunisia. https://www.romeartlover.it/نيابوليس.html
Buyukyildirim, O. (2026, January 21). Nature Strikes, و History Answers: Could lost بوني-Roman city of نيابوليس Be Resurfacing in Tunisia? Arkeonews. https://arkeonews.net/nature-strikes-و-history-answers-could-lost-punic-roman-city-of-neapolis-be-resurfacing-in-tunisia/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Tanit XR. (2025, December 24). Home – TANIT XR. TANIT XR. https://tanitxr.org/
قرأتموه حتى النهاية
ثلاثة مقالات مقروءة
