Ancient Shipwreck near Sutivan, Island of Brač

Not far from Sutivan on the island of Brač, in Split-Dalmatia County, the remains of an ancient ship lie on the seabed. It is a destination for divers and for all who are interested in maritime history, because in the Adriatic context it is a unique site.

The remains lie at a depth of 31 to 34 metres. On the seabed about twenty objects can be made out: seven sarcophagi, two of their lids, nine stone blocks, one column of round cross-section and a stone trough with a drilled opening. The cargo occupies an area of about 6.6 by 4.1 metres, and the trough lies two metres from the other finds. The stone probably came from the quarries of Brač. The ship is roughly dated to late antiquity. Experts assume that beneath the cargo in the sand lie the remains of kitchenware and of the wooden hull, which would allow more precise dating.

The ancient shipwreck is a protected cultural good and is entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-6502.

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 hr, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: Wikidata (CC0).