Underwater archaeological research of the Roman harbour of Veštar near Rovinj

The archaeological research at Veštar Cove is the first organised exploration of underwater archaeological finds at this site. They were carried out in late 2009 with the help of funds provided by the Croatian Ministry of Culture and the City of Rovinj Tourist Board and included five days of fieldwork. The remainder of the work in the project's first campaign will be carried out at the workshops of the Croatian Conservation Institute, where the finds will be desalinated, preserved and restored, followed by their expert and scientific processing.

This, the first campaign, has already established the existence of a Roman period pier that was constructed of large stone blocks with a stone fill of smaller aggregate size. The dimensions of the pier were 50 x 5 x 10 m, which makes it one of the largest in the Istria County area. The outer face stone blocks are relatively well preserved, while the remainder of the blocks have slid and are now scattered along the edges of the pier. The full depth of this archaeological layer, i.e. the level of the Roman period seabed, has not yet been attained in the two trenches that have been dug, and should be achieved next year. The documentation of the visible sections of the pier has started, using underwater sketching and surveying from a geodetic total station located onshore.

An example of a Roman period roof tile from the fill found in trench A	A damaged Roman capital from the fill found in trench A

Based on the current results of the exploration, it appears that the pier was built in the early Roman period, with a possible reconstruction (extension or repair) carried out during its use. The pier collapsed, probably in the early medieval period, possibly as a result of a lack of maintenance. This pier was not used in the post medieval period, but the cove was surely used as an anchorage. It is possible that a pier was in use during this period, but we have found no trace of one to date.

Given that funding has not been provided this year for the program of onshore research at Veštar, we are not currently able to ascertain to what extent this pier was linked to the architectural complex on the shoreline. Based on analogy we can conclude that the pier was initially used for the economic activities of a villa rustica, but it is unknown for the moment whether is was in use during the life of the late Roman and early medieval settlement it is presumed was situated at the cove. Research will continue in coming years.

Luka Bekić MSc