Page 13 - Osor v fokusu znanosti

‘Osor beyond the Myth’ Project: The Roman
City, its Maritime Setting, and Past Land Use

across the Cres-Lošinj Archipelago 2025
in Archaeological Prospection
November
Nives Doneus, Martin Fera, and Michael Doneus
Invited Lecture

4–5
Abstract For over a decade, the development and application of a variety
of non-invasive archaeological methods, particularly large-scale prospec- Koper,
tion techniques, has shifted the focus from individual sites to cultural land-
scapes as a whole. In this context, airborne laser scanning has become one •
of the most important research methods, especially in the study of Mediter-
ranean landscapes. The results of the ‘Osor Beyond the Myth’ (2023–2026) Spotlight
project demonstrate how applying such methods alongside a shared focus
on on-site and off-site areas can influence research outcomes. The project
addresses the question of whether the city’s maritime role, as evidenced by
its trade goods, can be supported by its landscape context. The backbone
of the landscape-based approach is the use of airborne laser scanning and Scientific
bathymetry, terrestrial and underwater geophysical prospection and geoar-
chaeological research, to acquire data behind vegetation, sediments and the
seawater. The new results provide detailed evidence of the city’s layout and
how the surrounding landscape was used and changed. A new survey of in
the hilltop settlements across the entire Cres-Lošinj archipelago, alongside Osor
fresh insights into Roman urbanisation and Osor’s role in it, concludes the
presentation.

Keywords Osor, archaeological prospection, LiDAR, Roman urbanisation,
Cres Island

© 2025 Author(s) 13