As of: March 11, 2024, 5:26 a.m
By: Johannes Welte
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An underwater archaeologist recovers a Roman-era ship's mast near Portorož © David Badovinac/Facebook/Zavod za podvodno arheologijo-Rama/Wikipedia
Slovenia only has a small section of the Adriatic, but it scores with idyllic holiday resorts.
Researchers have now excavated a Roman harbor off the coast.
Piran – The port town of Piran with its beach resort Portorož is the most important tourist center in Slovenia on the Adriatic.
While in Piran the idyllic old town on a peninsula and a castle above the roofs is pure idyll, in Portorož there is hotel after hotel.
Archaeological treasures from Roman times lay dormant in the waters off Piran.
© IMAGO/xjbtoussaint236x
What many leisure captains with yachts or air mattresses had no idea: In the Bay of Portorož they were sailing or pedaling over the remains of an ancient harbor from Roman times.
Divers from the Institute for Underwater Archeology (ZaPa) uncovered the centuries-old facility from 2017 to February of this year.
The researchers found exclusive ceramics and evidence of sophisticated Roman technology
“The intact Roman layers at the site contained a large amount of ceramic fragments - according to current findings, these were predominantly imported late antique vessels such as amphorae, coarse dishes and sigillates,” says a press release from the institute.
The latter is high-quality Roman ceramic with a red, shiny surface.
But the real sensation is: “In addition, elements of rigging, two extraordinary finds of ship masts and a large number of wooden poles were uncovered at the site.”
The institute concludes: “The existing finds in connection with the exceptionally protected location along the coast and other nearby places suggest that there was a small harbor with berths and wooden structures in late antiquity.” These wooden structures were either used as breakwaters or as Connection to the shore has been used.
An archaeologist presents the ship's mast © Zavod za podvodno arheologijo/Facebook
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The researchers conclude that their secondary use was probably as a berth for a ship or as a support beam for a wooden structure.
The first mast was made of fir wood.
The find is about one meter long and also had an integrated pulley made of oak.
The second mast is made of spruce wood and is about one and a half meters long.
Researchers speak of “unique specimens in the world”
Finds of masts and poles from antiquity are extremely rare, and interpretations are primarily tied to experimental archeology and visual historical sources such as reliefs, statues, drawings, paintings, depictions on coins and mosaics, the institute explains.
“If the interpretation of the two finds is confirmed, they will be unique specimens in the world,” the researchers are convinced.
These are extremely rare examples of ancient masts, considering the finds throughout the Mediterranean over the last 20 years.
According to rtvslo.si,
the masts will
be preserved with melamine resin in the restoration center.
The institute then wants to hand over all finds to the Sergei Measles Maritime Museum in Piran.
An eventful history in which Franconia and Bavaria were also involved
To date, two other Roman sites have been discovered in this area.
The first was explored in 1998 and includes the remains of a settlement with outbuildings near what is now a gas station.
The underwater archaeologists also explored the foundations of an underwater fish farm in 2004 and 2005.
This year, the institute plans to set up monitoring of the underwater archaeological cultural heritage in the Bay of Koper at selected locations.
After the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the west coast of Istria was in the sphere of influence of the Eastern Roman and Byzantine Empire.
Its capital was Constantinople, which was conquered by the Turkish Ottomans in 1453 and has been called Istanbul ever since.
After the end of the Western Rome, the Istrian hinterland was dominated by Goths, Lombards and Franks, and Slavs immigrated.
It briefly belonged to Bavaria before becoming part of Carinthia in 976.
It shared fate with Austria until 1918, before it was added to Slovenia.
The Adriatic still holds many secrets: On the Croatian island of Korčula, researchers discovered a Stone Age city under water.
In January, a group of cave tourists in Slovenia were surprised by a tidal wave.