An archaeological find from the Roman era was found in Barbariga

17.10.2022
History and culture

An archeological find from the Roman era was found in the Barbariga bay, as part of the “Istrian Undersea” project. This important project of the Archaeological Museum of Istria includes the documentation, listing and topography of underwater sites in the Istrian undersea that are related to Roman history. Last month, their archaeological team and divers found a monumental structure 57 meters long in the area of the old Brabariga beach. The find consists of three rows of stone blocks preserved in situ, and the foundation block was also discovered.

It is assumed that it is actually a type of ancient port device that served as part of an operational waterfront for transporting and loading oil by sea, given that there was an oil mill nearby. It is also known that the oil mill was explored in the fifties of the last century.

What does archeological find tell us?

The archaeological find has a structure 16 to 24 meters wide with an L-shaped projection. The find is made of stone blocks measuring 3.1×2.6 meters. This finding and the general research of the entire seabed in this area confirms that the area of the town of Vodnjan-Dignano was known for the production of olive oil even in antiquity. In the locality of Barbariga, there was an oil mill with 20 presses – this made it the largest oil mill in the Istrian area, and possibly beyond. The site dates back to the 1st century. It is assumed that the oil mill cultivated olives planted on an area of 240 to 300 hectares. The size of the entire estate may have been much larger – up to 900 hectares.

In addition to this archaeological find, remains of tableware and kitchenware, an amphora and a large amount of building ceramics were also found in the sea. The most interesting find is actually the Dressel 6A type amphora (The body of amphora is ovoid or elliptical in profile. The shoulder displays distinct carination – a ridge where the shoulder meets the body of the amphora. The handle is circular, or nearly circular, in section.) and those produced in the area of Fažana (a town near Barbariga). These finds also date back to the 1st century, as well as the site of the ancient oil mill.

The “Istrian Undersea” research is a project involving numerous scientists, archaeologists, restorers, and photographers.

Archaeological Museum of Istria currently is closed due to reconstruction

The Archaeological Museum of Istria, which conducts these researches, was founded in 1925 by the merger of the City Museum in Pula, the State Collection and the Poreč Provincial Museum. Five years later, in 1930, the museum was opened to visitors and a guide was issued in Italian. The exhibition visited by the first visitors was available to the public until the end of the Second World War, after which many objects were transferred to Italy.

The museum was reopened in 1949, and the remaining exhibits could be seen with some changes in the lapidary. In 1961, with great efforts, part of the archaeological material was returned to the museum from Italy. The gradual renovation of the museum building began and a didactic-visual conception of the entire representative museum fund was created. In 1968, a remodeled lapidary was opened in the ground rooms and corridors of the museum, and in 1973, the exhibition halls of prehistory on the 1st floor and antique, late antique and medieval exhibitions were opened on the 2nd floor of the museum building.

Your CTC Team, A. M.