The Byzantine Shipwreck of Cape Stoba (Mljet, Croatia)

Abstract

The remains of cape Stoba shipwreck lies in the waters of the island of Mljet at the depth between 21 and 28 m. It was investigated for the first time in 1975 (by Maritime Museum in Dubrovnik) and the research was resumed between 2009 and 2013 by the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute. Research has shown that the cargo is composed of nine types of Middle Byzantine amphorae datable in the 10th-11th century AD, produced in the area of the Marmara, Black sea and Eastern Mediterranean shore. Some of them present graffiti written in Old Bulgarian letters or runes, like those on the amphorae of Serce Limani wreck. The secondary part of the cargo was composed of glass vessels, perhaps originating from the Palestinian area. Since 2012 the research on the site was carried out through a project in cooperation between the Croatian Conservation Institute and the Department of humanistic studies of the Universita Ca’ Foscari. Aim of the project is the excavation of the site, a photogrammetrical documentation of the amphora cargo which allows the production of an innovative 3D image of the context and the recovery and study of the items (almost 100 amphorae were recovered up to date). The site is one of the very few wrecks from this period in the Mediterranean. It is important for reconstructing traffic routes in the Adriatic Sea in the 10th and 11th centuries and presents an excellent base for the development of more extensive typologies of Middle Byzantine amphorae.