A once forgotten Roman city has been rediscovered by archaeologists in a groundbreaking discovery.
Neapolis was a major Roman city on the coast of Tunisia initially established as a trade port by the Greeks of Cyrene in the 5th century BC before it became a city when the Roman Empire conquered North Africa.
Tunisian town Nabeul now stands where the ancient metropolis once was having been built on top of most of the remains, making them inaccessible and likely destroyed.
However, researcher Mounir Fantar was convinced a large portion of Neapolis was permanently submerged in the ocean when a tsunami hit the city on July 21, 365AD.
His theory would mean the Mediterranean could be hiding an underwater city.
Channel 5’s “Ancient Mysteries” series revealed how the city remained forgotten for so long.
Narrator Mark Bazeley said: “The archaeology is an enigma, as the ruins are nowhere near big enough to match the bustling city.
“The answer wold remain a mystery until now after an incredible chance discovery that has revealed the great forgotten city.”
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In the clip, brick ruins line a plot of land.
As the camera provides a bird's-eye view of the plot, a garden surrounded by brick ruins is centred in the middle.
The narrator adds: "One hundred miles north of the amphitheatre, there is one Roman settlement has perplexed archaeologists for centuries.
“On the outskirts of the coastal town of Nabeul sit mysterious high-status Roman villas."
“Ancient records reveal this was the location of a prominent city called Neapolis and it was deemed so significant it may have been an official Roman metropolis by Julius Caesar."
Evidence of the buried city was first discovered in 2013.
Mark explained: “It took a massive storm to finally give Fantar his answer.
“In 2013, heavy winds hit the southern Mediterranean, ravaging the seabed off the coast of Nabeul.
“Days later, strange stone shapes began to emerge from the seafloor, shapes that appeared unnaturally straight.
“Further investigations revealed something startling, they were remains of a Roman settlement, stone blocks, columns, foundations.”
Some four years later, Mounir made headlines after announcing divers had uncovered Roman street signs and monuments on the ocean floor.
Mark added: “Could these remains be the missing harbour-front of Neapolis that Fantar had been searching for?
“To find out, he and his team took their investigations to the sky.
Using drone imagery, they built up a full view from above of the ruins on land and underwater and revealed something astounding.
The remains of the sea lined up with those on the shore meaning for Mounir, this could only mean one thing.
They must have belonged to the same Roman settlement, it was a discovery that stunned archaeologists.
“These are exceptional finds and discoveries, this is a very important discovery," a delighted Mounir revealed.
“One that defines the career of an archaeologist.”
The discovery has also helped historians to learn more about the economy and society of this city, suggesting it could have rivalled Rome.
They even found hundreds of huge holes believed to have been used for the manufacture of Garum – a popular garnish of the empire, made from anchovy intestines.
Researchers believe the city functioned as the main export of this condiment to the rest of the empire, which earned them fortunes and status.
