Unique Finds from Dutch Shipwreck off Premantura Revealed
Archaeologists have discovered a fully preserved Bartmann jug and a Morion-type helmet at Cape Franina, items never before recorded in the Adriatic.
Archaeologists have discovered a fully preserved Bartmann jug and a Morion-type helmet at Cape Franina, items never before recorded in the Adriatic.
Archaeological research on the Dutch shipwreck at Cape Franina in Premantura is yielding increasingly fascinating finds. The team from the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, led by Associate Professor Luka Bekić, PhD, has been uncovering the secrets of the ship that sank around 400 years ago for six years. This year's research has resulted in the discovery of items recorded for the first time in the Adriatic, some of which cannot be found even in Venice.
Among the most significant finds is a fully preserved Bartmann jug, the only one of its kind found in the Adriatic. Alongside it, archaeologists have also uncovered military equipment, including a fully preserved metal Morion-type helmet. "Some of the items found have been recorded for the first time in the Adriatic, and certain ones cannot be found even in Venice, which was one of the largest cities in the world at that time," said Roko Surić, deputy head of research, for Glas Istre.
In addition to Surić, the team includes Šime Vrkić, PhD, and Maja Kaleb from the Zadar Centre, and they have been joined by a team of international experts from the Netherlands, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Slovakia, Romania, and Croatia. Around ten archaeologists are based at the facility in Banjole.
The research began in 2020, and so far, about 80 square meters of the ship have been explored. "The ship's structure and the items found indicate that this is a Dutch vessel that sank in the late 16th or early 17th century," Surić explained. Special attention is being paid to the cleaning and documentation of the wooden ship structure, and the site also features iron cannons preserved on the seabed.
Each find is precisely marked and documented so that the entire story of this site can eventually be reconstructed. "Little by little, we are putting the puzzle together, but it will take more years of research to fully uncover all the secrets of this ship," Surić added. He also emphasized that diving at this important site is prohibited, and visits are only allowed with specific approval from the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.
