Page 25 - Osor v fokusu znanosti

Osor 2023: Underwater
Archaeological Research

Igor Miholjek and Pavle Dugonjić 2025
Invited Lecture
November

Abstract In 2023, underwater archaeological research was conducted at
Osor, at the entrance to the Osor Channel, in the area between the islands
of Cres and Lošinj. The investigations preceded construction works on the 4–5
sewage and wastewater drainage system and were carried out by the Croa-
tian Restoration Institute. The excavation area, measuring 107 m in length Koper,
and 3 m in width, was divided into five sectors, which were further subdi-
2
vided into 13 trenches. Over an area of 320 m ,morethan200 artefactswere •
recovered and typologically classified. The finds include fragments of prehis-
toric pottery, Hellenistic tableware pottery of various types (Gnathia, relief- Spotlight
decorated vessels, black-gloss ware), parts of amphorae (Portorecanati/Unije
type, Dressel 2–4, Late Roman 1, Spatheon, and North African amphorae) and
their stoppers, terra sigillata pottery, and glazed Early Modern ceramics from
northern Italy. In addition to the material culture, two large beams were un-
covered in Sector 3, oriented in the direction of tidal flow. The beams were re- Scientific
inforced with vertically positioned planks and yellow clay, which is not found
elsewhere on the site. Given their dimensions, they were likely intended to the
channel sea currents in the Osor Channel and to stabilise the Lošinj side of
the coast. Although no stratigraphic layers were preserved, the diversity of in
periods evident from the ceramic finds indicates a very long continuity of Osor
occupation in the Osor area.

Keywords Osor,Osorharbour,underwaterresearch,structures,materialcul-
ture

© 2025 Author(s) 25