June 1, 2018 — Scientists from Zadar’s Archaeological Museum found luxury ceramics designed to make sugar near Pag, confirming life has always been sweet on one of Croatia's breezier islands.
Researchers keep uncovering Croatia’s water-logged history as archeologists found ceramic troughs and bowls off the island of Pag.
The site contains the remnants of either a pier or sunken cargo ship dating back to some time between the 14th and 16th centuries, around when new city of Pag was being built, archaeologists told Zadarski List.
The items, designed for sugar production, were discovered at St. Nicholas’s point in Pag’s bay, where archaelogists have been conducting an underwater dig.
"In the underwater world of St. Nicholas, we discovered luxurious tableware, fine ceramics, remnants belonging to a category of luxury present in the most important cities in Dalmatia," Dr. Hrvoje Manenica, senior curator of the Zadar Archaeological Museum, told Radio Pag.
Manenica is conducting the search alongside colleague Mario Radaljac, the museum’s curator of the Department of Underwater Archeology.
The archeological search began in earnest after some remnants were found pointing to a potential underwater site. The archeologists have been combing the sands of the point daily, thanks to funding from the City of Pag.
Radaljac said findings from the site will be presented to the public when all of its contents have been found, promising to organize a presentation and lecture that will “draw the public’s interest.”
Similar underwater archaeological sites can be found throughout Dalmatia, with previous locations including Ilovik as well as a 2500-year-old settlement off the coast of Zadar.
