A Roman ship scuttled near Salona in the Gulf of Kaštela, Croatia

Abstract

In 2002, the recovery of a 1000-litre perforated dolium in the Trstenik section of Kaštel Sućurac, near Split, Croatia, attracted the attention of archaeologists to significant Roman remains submerged near the shore. A return visit to the site in 2006 identified the outline of a wooden ship scuttled alongside a submerged wooden wall: in 2015, the ship was uncovered and labelled, recorded via photogrammetry and extensively sampled, then preserved in situ. Reconstruction determined the ship to be a flat-floored, ­mortise-and-tenon constructed ship, dated to approximately the late 1st century AD, suitable for the transport of heavy cargo.