How Africa News
A team of researchers announced new findings related to a submerged town in the Adriatic Sea near Zadar, found last year in southern Croatia. According to early estimates, the city is believed to be around 3,500 years old. The ancient settlement and port were found in the sea between the islands of Ricula and Galesnjak in the Pasman channel in 2014 thanks to a donation from the travel agency Secret Dalmatia to the University of Zadar which consequently made the necessary excavations and came across dozens of items during underwater explorations.
Recently, early tests results have been released to the public showing that this ancient city was built around 1500 BC, making it one of the oldest settlements found in the region. Alan Mandic, a project benefactor stated the following in a blog post:
“We discovered the stays of a giant settlement and a port in the ocean between the islands of Ricula and Galesnjak in the Pasman Channel final yr. After radiocarbon evaluation completed this month, let’s say that the stays have been in all probability constructed around 1500 BC.”
Led by Marko Ilkic, head of the archaeological research at the Zadar University, the team unearthed numerous objects while exploring a small part of the underwater settlement, among the most valuable items, researchers discovered a unique set of wooden objects, pottery fragments, stone axes and goat and sheep bones.
“The discovery of this wide site will certainly shed light on a dark period of pre-history — the Bronze Age of northern Dalmatia.”
The discovery is extremely significant since it means this ancient city was part of an unknown culture that inhabited the region of the Pasman channel before the Liburnians arrived there.
“One can clearly see the underwater structures on the aerial shots and, it is known from the records, that the region was part of the village of Tukljaca. The village was abandoned and slowly sunken underwater during the Ottoman-Venetian War (1570-1573). Back in the 70s, some archaeological reconnaissance has also been done but no sondage and actual underwater excavating have been done. Until now.”
