"The Last Shipment — The Late Antique Shipwreck from Piruzi and the Trade Connections of Aquincum", Aquincum Museum of the Budapest History Museum, Hungary, 10 June 2026

The Aquincum Museum in Budapest is the host of the exhibition "The Last Shipment - Late Antique Shipwreck from Piruzi and the Trade Connections of Aquincum". The exhibition opening took place on Wednesday, 10 June 2026.

Resulting from Croatian - Hungarian cooperation, the exhibition offers a joint presentation of material evidence demonstrating commercial connections between northern Adriatic ports and ancient Aquincum (modern Budapest). 

The Croatian component of the display comprises the results of five years of archaeological investigations conducted on the Veliki Piruzi rock in the Rovinj archipelago under the auspices of the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar and the Bavarian Society for Underwater Archaeology (Bayerischen Gesellschaft für Unterwasserarchäologie, BGfU). 

The objects derive from a fifth century late antique shipwreck, likely loaded with goods from North Africa destined for northern Adriatic ports; the principal finds include amphorae, ceramic vessels, structural elements of the ship, and a rare lead sounding weight. Archaeological researches have confirmed the existence of supply chains linking the Mediterranean with the Roman province of Pannonia - of which Aquincum served as the capital of Pannonia Inferior - and indicates that the ship’s cargo was intended for further transport by land and river to destinations in the north.

Welcome speeches were delivered by Dr. László Csorba, Director General of the Budapest History Museum together with Director of the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar Mladen Pešić, PhD. 

The exhibition was formally inaugurated by H.E. Mladen Andrlić, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Croatia to Hungary. 

Detailed presentation of the discoveries was provided by Luka Bekić, PhD, the field director for Croatia, together with Roko Surić, senior conservator – underwater archaeologist.