Histria antiqua, Vol. 21 No. 21, 2012.
Prethodno priopćenje
Fluvial Locations in the Neretva Valley during Antiquity
Hrvoje MANENICA
orcid.org/0000-0001-8501-795X
; Arheološki muzej Zadar Trg Opatice Čike 1 23000 Zadar, Hrvatska
Sažetak
In this paper, the localities which will be presented are mainly agricultural areas of the River Neretva Valley,
which existed along the navigation route.
The valley of the River Neretva from prehistoric times was of great trade and military –naval importance. Considering
the fact that the river often changed its course, this area was subjected to geographical changes, so that
today some localities are to be found on land, but in antiquity these places were either on a lake, river or the sea.
The valley of the River Neretva was substantially different at that time from today. The appearance of the estuary
and the course of the River Neretva have been permanently changing throughout history, so that today’s image
of the River Neretva is not a reflection of antiquity or the Middle Ages.
During the time of Greek colonization and overseas expansion, the Neretva valley was one of the key points for
trade with Illyrian tribes. The Liburnians had their first contacts with the Greeks in the 8th century BC, according
to Strabon.
The first contact with the Romans was a conflict with the Liburnians in 299 BC. Under the command of the
Consul G. Fulvio, the Romans, with a navy that numbered as many as nearly 200 ships, sailed towards Corfu, which
the Illyrian leader had to relinquish to the Romans, making an alliance with them. After this conflict, the Roman
infiltration of this area began and conflicts with the warlike Delmats. Narona was the base for military campaigns
and it played an important role in the military strategy in these conflicts.
At the very entrance to the Neretva Delta, the small island of Osinj is located, which being in a strategic position,
controlled the entrance to Neretva and the sea navigation in the Neretva channel (map 3: T1). There are remains
on the island of Justin’s Fort and an old Christian church, as well as the Church of St John with its accompanying
annexes, which was once a Franciscan monastery. Later, through the Middle Ages, Osinj remained a strategic place
for sea navigation changing its rulers, the Byzantines, Croatian nobles, the Venetians, Turks and the Republic of
Dubrovnik.
The archaeological area in the locality of Dobruška glavice was the main area where Neretva once flowed, but
in this area there are remains of one of the dried up lakes, and it is less likely that it was once the sea. According
to the testimony of the locals from Komin, during the 70s of the last century, while digging a channel, 12 Roman
amphoras were removed. On a visit to this location, we came across the remains of amphora near to one of the four
small hills (Map 3: T2, T2a ).
Not far away from this place, also in the area of Dobruške glavice during the 90s of the last century, during the
digging of a channel, also a quantity of Roman ceramics were found, which by their style, can be dated to the period
at the end of the Ist century BC-Ist century AD. On that occasion, the remains of Roman ceramics both fine and
rough, were collected.
The amphora which were found here could belong to Lamboglia 2 type amphora, and most probably they got
here as part of a shipwreck during the time of the development of Narona as a Roman town at the end of the 2nd
or in the Ist century BC.
The locality at Vlaka (Map3: T5). Today this is an arable area where plantations of mandarins are grown. The
place was brought to our attention when the land owner during the digging of an irrigation channel, discovered
pottery. Immediately next to the field where the bulldozer had dug up the ceramic material, there was a rocky cliff
or hill. About 60 years ago in this area there was a lake called Dragača which amelioration had dried out during the
60s and 70s of the last century. Assuming that in Roman times the circumstances were similar, that is, this part of
the valley was navigable. The difference from the mentioned localities, is that this one at Vlaka was somewhat off
the route which went from the Adriatic Sea towards Narona, so it can be assumed that nearby there was one of the
villea rustica, which was accessible by water way.
Vid – Narona (map 3, T6). During the cleaning of an irrigation channel not far from Vid, that is ancient Narona,
the bulldozer dug out a piece of treated wood from the mud from a 4 meter depth. In antiquity the topography
of the Neretva valley at Narona looked significantly different than today. From the picture, it can be seen that the
small river Norin most probably flowed into Neretva ( Naro ) somewhere near Narona. The navigable route for
trading boats and ships went to Narona where there was a port. The part immediately by the hill itself, where the
central part of Narona was, even today the locals call it ‘’Luke’’ (ports ), and in the area outside the southern walls
of Narona, is the second location which is called ‘’Luka’’ (the port). Although this piece of wood resembles the
shape of the hull, it can be supposed that it was part of a boat considering the nearness and probable position of the
ancient port and the water courses at that time. Even today some of the water courses exist and are navigable for
small boats. The function of this piece of wood can eventually be found in one of the port devices, which certainly
existed considering the strategic significance of the Naronian port and the amount of cargo loaded and unloaded
from ships. Unfortunately, apart from this, no other wooden pieces were found, which could have eventually been
part of a vessel.
* * *
The valley of the River Neretva has always been a strategic navigable route joining the Mediterranean and Continental
world. This is a natural route, the only natural break in the Dinaric Alps in this part of the Adriatic coast,
and to this day it marks one of the most important directions to the interior of the continent. Geographically, the
Neretva valley through history, especially in recent times, has undergone many changes.
After the Roman infiltration of this area in the 2nd century BC, the military campaigns against the warlike
Delmati intensified and the Neretva valley became a strategic direction for delivering military logistics by sea for
further war operations. At the same time, Narona itself experienced strong development, especially in the Ist century
BC.
What all the locations presented in this paper have in common is the development of Narona as a colony and
judicial convent at the time of 2nd century BC to the Ist century. The localities of Dobruška glavica, Komin, Vlaka
and Vid were at that time on the navigable course towards Narona, and today are on the mainland.
Regarding the localities and their characteristics, it could be argued that the artifacts found came from shipwrecks
which perished on their route to Narona, or on their return from Narona. In the current circumstances in
the Neretva valley, It is very difficult to undertake detailed archaeological excavations in individual places considering
the depth of several meters in which the cultural level can be found. In addition the water level is also a problem,
considering the fact that at a depth of only 0.5-1 meters there is water. In any case, the Neretva valley has rich
ancient archaeological remains, from shipwrecks to remains of buildings, most probably commercial objects and
villae rusticae. Only futher archaeological research could fulfill the picture of the ancient valley of the River Naro.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
102015
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.8.2012.
Posjeta: 3.041 *