Remarkable ancient settlement discovered under the sea near Pašman

(Photo credit: Odjel za arheologiju, Sveučilište u Zadru)

A trial underwater archaeological survey has revealed an extraordinary submerged Neolithic site between Neviđane and the small islet of Školjić, just off the coast of the Croatian island of Pašman.

Archaeologists identified a striking artificial structure extending more than 300 metres along the seabed at a depth of around five metres.

Radiocarbon dating places the construction at approximately 4700 BC, a period when the level of the Adriatic Sea was more than five metres lower than today.

Evidence suggests that a Neolithic community built a substantial settlement on what would then have been a separate and strategically located landform.

The reasons for choosing a site detached from the coastline remain a mystery.

Test excavations uncovered sections of a dry-stone wall, while a line of densely positioned wooden piles runs parallel to the stone face.

These elements represent only a small part of a far more complex system of structures stretching across the entire site.

The research was carried out as part of the Croatian Science Foundation project “Submerged Neolithic Sites in the Adriatic”, led by Mate Parica from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Zadar.

Researchers note that similar monumental Neolithic features have increasingly been discovered along the eastern Adriatic in recent years.

These communities appear to have been strongly oriented towards the sea, possibly playing a significant role in early maritime trade networks.

Alongside the University of Zadar team, specialists from the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar and staff from the public cultural institution Agencija Han Vrana also took part in the investigation.

The findings mark an important addition to the growing body of evidence highlighting the Adriatic’s dynamic prehistoric past and the ingenuity of its earliest coastal societies.