The full extent of Roman interests have largely been lost and a discovery such as this is hugely important. The sailing distance was huge and needed to be supported by a compelling trade story. That a predominantly Roman city sprung up is still surprising.
The potential for Roman trade into Mesoamerica has also never been truly disproved and certainly we know that trade did continue after 1159 BC through to the Roman collapse in Western Europe. After that it likely became just too difficult and we had a thousand year loss of contact.
Again archaeology has much to teach us and speculative archaeology many future surprises.
2,000-Year-Old Lost City of Rhapta May Have Been Found in Tanzania
Photographs of some of the square and rectangular blocks that were found off Mafia Island in Tanzania. Credit: Seaunseen / Alan Sutton
“The island on which it is attached to is Mafia also known by Ptolemy as Mafiaco. Exactly whether this is Rhapta remains 'a puzzle for the archaeologists to figure out… It seems very old and to have been extremely well constructed, in a fashion unlike the architecture of other ruins in Tanzania and doubtless the site will keep archaeologists busy for many years. Without a large amount of research it is impossible to say exactly what the site is. It however appears to be a very old harbor city.''
''The city of Heracleion, home of the temple where Cleopatra was inaugurated, plunged into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt nearly 1,200 years ago. It was one of the most important trade centres in the Mediterranean before it sank more than a millennium ago. For centuries, the city was believed to be a myth, much like the city of Atlantis is viewed today. But in 2001, an underwater archaeologist searching for French warships stumbled across the sunken city.
After removing layers of sand and mud, divers uncovered the extraordinarily well preserved city with many of its treasures still intact including, the main temple of Amun-Gerb, giant statues of pharaohs, hundreds of smaller statues of gods and goddesses, a sphinx, 64 ancient ships, 700 anchors, stone blocks with both Greek and Ancient Egyptian inscriptions, dozens of sarcophagi, gold coins and weights made from bronze and stone.''