New research of Suleyman Bridge in Darda

After a two-year hiatus, during October 2011 Croatian Conservation Institute and the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar teamed up and continued underwater archaeological research on the part of Suleiman's bridge in the pond named Mala Đola in Darda. During this campaign the main goal was a sampling of timber piles (bridge piles) for dendrochronological analysis. Suleiman's bridge was built in 1566 and finally destroyed in 1686 during which period several renovations were made. With the help of accurate dating of wood samples, we could find out when the renovations were exactly done. Ten samples were collected on this occasion and they will be sent for a dendrochronological analysis at the Slovenian Forestry Institute. In addition to sampling, survey of the pond was made. Several previously unknown pylons which formed the bridge construction were located and later recorded by geodetic GPS. Also several important wooden elements were discovered, that will help in the reconstruction of the bridge, for example a solid beam of nearly 4 meters in length with X sign carved in the middle and some other wooden structural elements of the bridge with wooden pegs. Extremely poor visibility of few inches made it difficult to survey the site, but even with those problems, searching the bottom of the pond yielded interesting finds like bone skates with two holes and a lid of a wooden barrel. Based on this year's survey it can be concluded that this site has a number of interesting secrets that await discovery.