Histria antiqua, Vol. 21 No. 21, 2012.
Original scientific paper
The Importance of the Islands of Ilovik and St. Peter (Sv. Petar) on the Seafaring Route along the Eastern Adriatic Coast in the Light of Recent Research
Zrinka SERVENTI
orcid.org/0000-0002-8075-6574
; Sveučilište u Zadru Odjel za povijest Obala kralja Petra Krešimira IV., 2 23000 Zadar, Hrvatska
Abstract
The islands of Ilovik and St. Peter (Sv. Petar) held the important position on the seafaring route along the eastern
Adriatic coast during the ancient Roman period, which was proven by older underwater research, especially by the
ancient shipwreck near the island of Ilovik, but also by the more recent find of a bronze sculpture of Apoxyomenos.
The excavations on the site of a church from the late antiquity period, which were conducted in May of 2009 at the
position of St. Andrew (Sv. Andrija), also called Sićadrija, on the island of Ilovik, proved the importance of that area
for the navigation routes as well. The discovery of the fragmented Roman tombstone, which was re-used as a secondary
building-material during the construction of this late-antiquity church, is especially important. Considering
that during a field-survey a greater quantity of Roman tiles and other pottery sherds as well as few walls were found
on the shore of the island of Sv. Petar, a question of importance of the island of Sv. Petar during the Roman period
and its connection with trade centers on the eastern Adriatic coast has also been considered. Furthermore, the
potential seafaring routes, which might have passed through the channel between islands of Ilovik and Sv. Petar,
are discussed here, as well as the development of these two islands during the Roman and early mediaeval periods.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
104324
URI
Publication date:
1.8.2012.
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