Histria antiqua, Vol. 21 No. 21, 2012.
Pregledni rad
Antique Sea Routes and Ports in the Waters off the Islands of Cres and Lošinj
Jasminka ĆUS-RUKONIĆ
; Jadranska obala 20./III. 51 557 Cres, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The Cres-Lošinj archipelago is located in the Kvarner Gulf, in the very northern part of the east Adriatic coast.
Due to the area it covers, it represents the largest group of islands in the Croatian Adriatic, comprising 36 islands,
islets and rocks. For time immemorial, these islands have lain on an important sea route, and such an excellent geographical
position led to the settling of the islands at the very dawn of human civilisation, as testified by numerous
traces still present today.
From the 3rd to the 1st centuries BC, trade and other contacts were established between the inhabitants of the
Cres and Lošinj island group, namely the Liburnians, and other Mediterranean peoples, mostly Greeks and Italic
people. This is also the time of well-known legends and myths in which Greek and Hellenistic authors mention the
Cres-Lošinj archipelago. The epic poem Argonautica, written by Apollonius of Rhodes in the 3rd century BC, stands
out in particular. In this poem, the islands are named the Brigeides or the Electridae. Other ancient writers mentioned
the islands as the Mentorides. After the mythical murder of Apsyrtus near the temple of Diana in the vicinity
of Osor, the archipelago was named the Apsyrtides after the slain Apsyrtus. In connection with the same mythical
tradition, the Cres-Lošinj archipelago was mentioned by many Greek and Roman writers such as Pseudo-Scylax,
Claudius Ptolemy, Pseudo-Scymnus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Pomponius Mela, Antoninus and others.
Merchant ships loaded with wine and oil sailed from the south of Italy to the island of Cres and the Lošinj archipelago.
They traded their goods for salt and animal products, especially wool and cheese, and often wood. Pernat
II, a site with amphorae for wine transport from 140 to 80 years BC, is testimony to the busy trade relations of the
Greek world, especially between the Greeks from Magna Graecia and the local Liburnian aristocracy. Ancient
Cres (Crexa), Osor (Apsorus) and Omišalj (Fulfinum) were the final destinations on the east Adriatic sea route. A
sea route led from Cres to the bays of Plomin (Flanona), Labin (Albona), Raša (Arsia) and on to the Bay of Budava
(near the Histrian Nesactium), which offered natural shelter on the way to Pula. Another branch of this sea route
led to Rijeka (Tarsatica), the so-called door of the Adriatic, from where land routes led into the European hinterland
all the way to the Baltic Sea. The island of Cres, with its ports, also lay on the communication routes from
Northern and Central Europe to the Mediterranean.
The waters off the island of Cres are also rich in Early Christian hydro-archaeological finds. This is especially
true for folk pottery finds from the 6th to 11th centuries discovered at Cape Debeli near the peninsula of Pernat.
This site is known as Pernat I, and was investigated from 1968 to 1975. The pottery found at the site originates from
Istria, which had been famous from Antiquity for its brick and amphorae production. As recently as the end of the
20th century, ceramic pot production still existed in Rakalj. This type of pottery, crijepnje, is the remains of a local
Liburnian and Kvarner tradition running as far back as Prehistory.
The most famous port of the archipelago is the port of Osor, followed by the port of Cres, Mali Lošinj and Veli
Lošinj, and then smaller ports scattered around the islands. All of these ports connected the islands themselves and
linked the islands with the nearby east Adriatic coast.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
104322
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.8.2012.
Posjeta: 3.329 *