Byzantine period shipwreck near Cape Stoba on the island of Mljet

An underwater archaeological locality with the remains of a sunken merchant ship containing materials of eastern Mediterranean origin and dated to the 10th century is situated near the settlement of Okuklja, located on the north-eastern side of the island of Mljet, 500 metres to the east of Cape Stoba. It was discovered by local divers back in the early 1970s, when the removal of amphorae from the site began. After an examination of private collections with a wealth of this material, the first expert investigation of the site was carried out in 1975. Most of the material was found only in fragments scattered about the seabed, and it was concluded that the find was completely devastated. Given the exceptionally rare and interesting finds here, the Croatian Conservation Institute's Department of Underwater Archaeology, 35 years later, decided to once again examine the situation at this locality. The goal was to document the current situation at the locality and to see if objects might still be found on the seabed that would complete the typology of Byzantine material dating from the 9th to 11th centuries — very rare in our area. An iron anchor and the remains of a merchant cargo, including pottery and glassware, and several types of amphorae, were found on the seabed. At a depth of 17 to 25 metres, at the base of a rocky slope, ten completely intact amphorae were found in the sand, one of which was closed with a wooden cork sealed with resin. There are at least five different types of Byzantine amphorae here, manufactured in the Constantinople area during the 9th and 10th centuries. Most of the amphorae have a monogram carved into the shoulder area. Several fragments of richly decorated glassware were found along with the ceramic material. These fragments are from platters, plates and glasses of transparent light greenish-yellow and cobalt blue glass. Further research and analysis, based on the inscribed marks and the contents of the closed amphora will definitely establish the point of departure of this ship, the nature of its cargo, and provide an absolute dating of the material and of the sinking of the ship.

Vesna Zmaić