Laser exploration of historical myths
Today, the coasts of the Croatian islands are typically full of vacation home estates and lots of summer tourists. In the past, however, the bays lay on an important trading route used by the ancient Romans and Greeks. At that time, the islands of Dalmatia offered protected and easily navigable maritime routes with favorable currents and coastal winds that enabled rapid progress. The hinterland boasted a rich crop of grapes and olives that could be picked up along with other supplies in one of the many towns along the shipping routes.
The small town of Osor on the island of Cres was one of the places that experienced flourishing trade during the Roman Empire. Inhabited today by only a handful of people, the town has a special feature: a ten-meter-wide channel, once navigable, that still separates the islands of Cres and Lošinj. Although there is no direct evidence, many researchers, who were aware of the importance of the former trade routes, had presumed that the waterway was dug by human hands. But was it really? And did ancient Osor truly have the sort of supra-regional importance as a trading hub which many researchers assume because of the existence of the channel?
Archaeologist Nives Doneus from the University of Vienna wants to answer these questions. In the FWF-funded project “Osor beyond the myth” she is collaborating with an international team of over 20 people to reconstruct the role of this Adriatic town in the Iron Age and during the Roman Empire and to dispel myths and legends about its former importance. Doneus is harnessing expert methods that have hardly ever been used in the study of the history of the Mediterranean region – remote sensing techniques such as airborne laser scanning, which are intended to reconstruct millennia-old changes in the terrain.
Project website
New possibilities for collecting and analyzing archaeological data
“Ten years ago, remote sensing techniques were not at the technical level required for a useful investigation of the Mediterranean coastal areas. On the one hand, because the vegetation is very dense and there is no direct view of the land surface. And on the other, because part of the terrain to be explored lies under water,” explains Doneus. “New methods, such as high-resolution devices, more powerful analytical software and lasers that can penetrate more deeply into the water, were able to compensate for these shortcomings. In 2012, we were the first to use a bathymetric laser scanner for archaeological research in the Mediterranean Sea.”
A comprehensive evaluation of the resulting ground reliefs below and above the sea surface enables the researcher to draw conclusions about landscape changes. In addition, the team will conduct geophysical marine measurements, supplemented with core sampling. From the data collected in this way, Doneus hopes to be able to clarify how Osor, which already existed as a settlement in prehistoric times, has changed over the centuries. She seeks to trace the changes in the terrain above and below water level caused by natural processes such as sedimentation and erosion, as well as land use in the area surrounding the town.
Combining findings from excavations and remote sensing
These findings will then be supplemented and compared with research on material culture, including the analysis of articles from graves in nearby burial grounds. One of the central questions relates to the amount of goods from the Roman Empire and Greece that were available in Osor at different times. Doneus is working together with archaeologist Martina Blečić Kavur from the University of Primorska in Koper, Slovenia, to combine the perspectives of landscape analysis and archaeological finds into a coherent overall historical picture. For the geophysical investigations, the researchers are cooperating with experts from the Geosphere Austria research institute.
The complex interpretation of the remote sensing data has already revealed evidence of ancient dry stone walls in the vicinity of Osor, which were aligned in parallel. “After we took samples on site and dated them using optically stimulated luminescence, it became clear that Roman cadastral surveys had taken place on the island of Cres,” says Doneus, referring to one of the research findings. “This insight runs counter to previous doctrine. Until now, it was assumed that these land divisions by the Roman surveyors existed only around larger towns along the Croatian coast.”
The existing historical narrative will also be put to the test in respect of the Osor Channel. Doneus has doubts, for instance, that the connecting ditch was actually dug by the Romans. “It could well be that the channel was formed naturally long before the time of the Roman Empire. Perhaps its position was even gradually shifted over centuries by strong currents,” notes Doneus. “We are confident that we will be able to clarify issues such as this by analyzing the sediment movements.”
History hidden by myths
Another goal for the culmination of the project is a detailed map of the town, which was largely abandoned in the 16th century, together with reliable information about when the channel was navigable for Roman ships. The researchers also hope to gain new insights into the Iron Age hilltop settlements in the surrounding area. Another frequently mentioned myth that Doneus wants to verify maintains that the settlements were built to protect the city. “We should not settle for existing historical doctrine. The new technologies enable us to ask new questions and review purportedly ascertained knowledge,” the researcher notes in conclusion.
Doneus believes that the questions about the historical significance of Osor should by no means be viewed in isolation, but are symptomatic of the entire Mediterranean region. “For me, Osor is also a symbol for hundreds of other coastal towns. While they are all different, of course, they pose similar issues for researchers,” says the archaeologist. “We hope that by developing new approaches such as those of remote sensing techniques, we will eventually gain a more accurate – and less myth-riddled – historical view of the entire Mediterranean region.”
Personal details
Nives Doneus studied archaeology in Zagreb and Vienna. In 2021 she joined the VIAS - Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science at the University of Vienna as a Senior Researcher. Her research focuses on archaeological prospection, i.e. the exploration of archaeological sites or structures without conducting large-scale excavations. Set to run from 2023 to 2026, the project “Osor beyond the myth” receives EUR 497,000 in funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF
Publications
Doneus N., Doneus M., Kinnaird T., Turner S. et al.: Lost and found: Roman surveying of municipal territories on the northern Adriatic islands, Croatia, in: Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 41(2), 2024
Doneus N., Doneus M.: Intensively Cultivated Roman Villae Estates: Case Study of Medulin Bay (Istria, Croatia), in: Archaeological Prospection 31(2), 2024
