Prehistoric pottery from the deep sea along the eastern adriatic coast

During the last decades, research on submerged prehistory in Croatia advanced, and the number of known underwater sites significantly increased. Archaeological finds discovered on both coasts of the Adriatic Sea suggest connections between the two opposite shores since the Neolithic period, which intensified during the Bronze and Iron Ages. In this article we present five Copper and Bronze Age finds from the deep sea found in Croatia, which support the idea of an intensified maritime activity during the 3rd and 2nd millennium BCE. The finds are well-preserved ceramic vessels discovered off the coast of Central and Southern Dalmatia. One of them has clearly recognizable typological and morphological characteristics and dates to the Late Copper Age; two of them can be compared with pots from contexts dating to the time span between the end of the Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age; one pot probably belongs to the end of the Middle Bronze Age or to the Late Bronze Age, and another that can only be generally attributed to the Bronze Age. Considering the depth at which they were found, these pots are currently among the oldest direct evidence of navigation found in Dalmatia. Whether we are dealing with an accidentally discarded cargo or with shipwreck remains, the presence of these objects clearly attests to the prehistoric maritime transport of goods.