engleski

The Pašman Channel through Ages. Current knowledge and future plans.

The Pašman Channel is located South of Zadar in Northern Dalmatia, between the mainland and the island of Pašman. Intense exploitation of the area since prehistoric times is attested by great density of sites above and under water. The complex morphology of the Channel suggests that it was created during Neolithic period, by flooding the barrier between the two deep bays. During the Bronze Age, it probably started to act as a controlled seafaring route towards strategically positioned Iader (later Zadar). Many settlements from Prehistory and Classical Antiquity, once situated on the coast, are today completely or partly submerged, while a number of small islands located in the Channel, bare the evidence of human presence. In the nearby vicinity of the Channel lies a fresh-water Lake of Vrana, whose creation was reconstructed based on geological coring. The area abunds with fresh water, which in Roman times supplied the colony of Iader. Over 200 brackish “wells” on the Pašman side of the Channel testify to the presence of anchialine caves which through centuries complemented the lack of surface water. Several surveys and documentation campaigns, performed in 1970s already pointed out the archaeological potential of the area, but the more systematic approach initiated just during last decade. The paper presents an overview of the results of archaeological and geological research carried out until 2018, and identifies the key issues to be approached in the future.

The Pašman Channel through Ages. Current knowledge and future plans.

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