Remains of 3,500-year-old settlement found in Dalmatian town

Epetion, located in the heart of Stobreč (Photo: Ministry of Culture and Media)

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 3,500-year-old settlement in the heart of a Dalmatian town in Croatia, shedding new light on the region’s rich ancient history.

The discovery includes a well-preserved Greek wall and structures from various historical periods, offering valuable insights into the area’s past.

During yesterday’s visit to Split, the Minister of Culture and Media, Dr Nina Obuljen Koržinek, together with State Secretary Krešimir Partl, their colleagues, and gathered journalists, were presented with the valuable archaeological site of ancient Epetion, located in the heart of Stobreč at the beginning of Omladinsko Šetalište street.

(Photo: Ministry of Culture and Media)

The site was introduced by Dr Marina Ugarković, the head of protective archaeological research from the Institute of Archaeology.

“These are impressive archaeological findings, including a Greek wall approximately forty metres long, with some sections reaching a depth of more than three metres,” archaeologist Ugarković emphasised, explaining that this makes it an extraordinarily monumental discovery—the best-preserved Greek wall in Croatia, comparable to other ancient archaeological finds worldwide, the Ministry of Culture and Media said.

She revealed that, during the research she led, the remains of other structures within the ancient settlement of Epetion, dating from various periods, were explored for the first time.

These periods range from prehistory through the Hellenistic and Roman eras to late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

Given the site’s stratified nature, Marina Ugarković highlighted that, for the first time, material evidence was discovered suggesting the settlement existed much earlier than previously thought, with the earliest finds dating back to the Middle Bronze Age, approximately 3,500 years before Christ.

(Photo: Ministry of Culture and Media)

The significance of the site was also presented to Minister Obuljen Koržinek by conservator-archaeologists Silva Kukoč and Ivica Pleština from the Conservation Department in Split, part of the Ministry of Culture and Media, who supervised the site.

“This area had already been identified in our registers as one where we could expect to find interesting discoveries, which is why archaeological research is being conducted here,” the Minister noted during her address to the media. Due to the exceptional value of the findings, which reveal multiple layers of settlement, the Minister announced further research on the site and plans for its future protection and presentation.

“We’ve been following this topic for several months now, and colleagues from the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Zagreb, along with the Split Conservation Department and the Archaeological Museum, have been continuously monitoring the research, as everyone agrees this is a particularly fascinating site,” the Minister stressed, expressing her satisfaction that a representative of the investor was present, seeing interest in the detailed research and presentation of this site, not only for the local community but for the broader public as well.

(Photo: Ministry of Culture and Media)

The Minister reminded those present that a new Law on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Property is currently being prepared for its second reading in the Croatian Parliament. This law will introduce new solutions based on certain examples from practice.

“Considering the richness of archaeology, we will present an example that will allow for much better ex lege protection of such exceptionally valuable sites, particularly in urban areas,” the Minister noted, adding that it is always necessary to balance the interests of property owners with those of the conservation profession, in this case, archaeologists, to ensure the protection of such sites.

It is worth noting that, until now, knowledge of ancient Epetion was based solely on historical sources mentioning Tragurium, Epetion, and Salona as Greek trading posts.

The first excavations were conducted by Mladen Nikolanci, an archaeologist from the Archaeological Museum in Split, and Dr Aleksandra Faber from the Institute of Archaeology in Zagreb, on the northern coast of Stobreč in 1969 and 1973, when the city wall was discovered. In 2012, Dr Marina Ugarković from the Institute of Archaeology explored a trench at the site of the Hellenistic wall.

(Photo: Ministry of Culture and Media)

At the investor’s request for an assessment of the need for archaeological research in Stobreč, the Split Conservation Department ordered protective archaeological investigations at the beginning of 2024, before granting special construction conditions.

These investigations had to cover at least 30% of the total area, primarily to determine the direction and condition of the Greek walls.

The research conducted by the Institute of Archaeology from Zagreb led to the discovery of a megalithic structure with a double gate, indicating that the site extends north of the wall towards the coastline. This opens up additional hypotheses about the extent of the Hellenistic city.