On the Croatian island of Rab, researchers found traces of buildings built by settlers from Dalmatia to protect them from the Ostrogoths. Archaeologists have also uncovered elements that may indicate that in the following centuries the island was flooded with another wave of migration, this time by people fleeing attacks from the Slavs or Avars.
Wooden house, accumulations of coins and African utensils
The discovery took place within the framework of a joint project of the Institute of Archeology of the University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in Warsaw and the Institute of Archeology in Zagreb.
“This season’s season has brought amazing and extremely important discoveries in the context of the entire Eastern Adriatic region,” prof. Fabian Welz, head of the Polish research group. The Croatian team coordinator is Dr. Ana Konestra.
This year, archaeologists have excavated in Podilo Bay in the north of the island, in an early Roman rural complex of villas that was discovered just a few years earlier thanks to georadar research. Until now, researchers believed that all the structures discovered were erected between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD.
– It turned out that the area of the settlement we were investigating was also inhabited later, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Homemade wooden architecture was built on the remains of a dilapidated villa. It was a complete surprise for us, – said prof. Fabian Welk in an interview with PAP.
The researcher also added that these primitive structures were probably erected under the threat of invasion by the Ostrogoths by Roman migrant settlers from the province of Dalmatia, which occupies the territory of modern northern Croatia. These areas (including the island of Rab) were partially captured by the Germanic barbarian tribes by Emperor Justinian at the end of the 6th century AD.
As noted by prof. Fabian Welk, this idea of the origin of the new settlers is confirmed by the accumulations of Byzantine and Ostrogothic coins of that time, discovered during excavations. He added that the new settlers had adapted the already partially destroyed villa to their needs by installing wooden walls and roofs supported by pillars.
“Despite rather primitive conditions, they maintained a relatively high standard of living. Among the remains of the makeshift rooms, we found only imported African vessels for oil and wine, glass and bronze items, including numerous coins, the archaeologist listed.
In his opinion, all these elements testify to the intense contacts of the then inhabitants of the island of Rab with the Roman African provinces and with other parts of the Mediterranean Sea.
Revolutionary discovery
It is possible that the island, which is a kind of refuge (refuge), has witnessed more than one migration.
– In the 7th century, a very preliminary renovation was made in the summer cottage complex. Everything indicates that we are dealing with another wave of migrant settlers, but this time, perhaps, seeking refuge on the island from the wave of Slavs or Avars who burst into the Balkans at that time, ” suggested prof. Fabian Welk.
According to the researcher, the seven-century phase of settlement on the island of Rab is unique in the world of archeology.
– This is the first such find in the North-Eastern Adriatic region. It gives an idea of the migration processes that took place at the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages, which is unique in terms of archaeological materials, – assured PAP Prof. Welc.
This is not the only major discovery that researchers have made on the island this year. Thanks to radar studies in the area of the western part of the bay, it was possible to find another monumental structure. Most likely, it was lined with mosaics, as evidenced by the finds of numerous tessera (small cubes that form a mosaic) found on the ground.
– The plan of this assumption indicates that the building performed thermal functions, which we will try to confirm during excavations next year, – said prof. Welc.
As the researcher assured, the most interesting discoveries of the Polish-Croatian team in the future will be available for visiting by tourists.
The island of Rab was strategically located on the route map of Rome. For this reason, Emperor Octavian Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD) built a port and a walled city, some of which have survived as relics to this day. Most of the exported ceramics from the island, possibly oil and wine, and possibly fish. Instead, glassware, good quality wine and high quality terra sigillata vessels were imported, mainly from Tunisia and, in smaller quantities, also from the Middle East.