NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND FINDS IN THE KVARNER UNDERWATER - RESULTS OF SURVEYS FROM 2010 TO 2012

In the course of 2010 and 2011, a team of experts from the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute, in cooperation with the Losinj Museum, conducted an archaeological survey of the Kvarner underwater. Systematic inspection of the seabed revealed numerous archaeological finds which can be dated to periods from the Antiquity to the Early Modern age. Diverse archaeological material found at as few as six sites, off the islands of Losinj, Unije and Ilovik, is clearly indicative of the necessity for systematic inspections of the underwater that has not yet been fully researched. The discovery of two new types of amphorae, previously unknown in the Croatian underwater, is of particular importance, in addition to the finding of a 19th-century shipwreck of a vessel transporting bricks and ceramic wine jugs. The information gathered adds to our knowledge of the rich cultural heritage of the Kvarner underwater, and represents the most recent contribution to the study of maritime trade and sailing routes in this region.