WELCOME Magazine 16 - Turistička zajednica grada Dubrovnika

Submarine Archaeological Site Cavtat
By Domagoj Perkić
eum under
NOVOVJEKOVNI BRODOLOM (4)
- nalazi se zapadno od ulaza u cavtatsku
valu, na dubini 27-31 m. Na
površini su vidljivi ostaci 6 željeznih
topova, 2 sidra, skupina topovskih
kugli, puške i drugi nalazi koji su
preostali od manjeg ratnog broda iz
Napoleonovog vremena.
the Sea
Amfore pod zaštitnim kavezom
Amphorae under the protective cage
Već iz ovog kratkog
opisa podmorskih arheoloških
lokaliteta u akvatoriju
ispred Cavtata vidljivo je bogatstvo
cavtatske podmorske kulturne
baštine. Intencija Ministarstva kulture
je da se, uz odgovarajuću zaštitu,
čim više arheoloških nalaza i lokaliteta
ostavlja u podmorju kao in situ
muzeji, odnosno muzeji u moru. Na
taj se način obogaćuje turistička ponuda
Hrvatske, odnosno kvalitetno
isprepliću turizam i kulturna baština.
Osim toga, zar se može zamisliti ljepši
posjet muzeju, nego ovom u tišini
plavih dubina ...
With its peninsulas stretching
into the sea Cavtat has long
been a convenient settlement site,
where life can be traced from the
Bronze and Iron Ages till the present
day. The first antique records of the
name Epidaurum, nowadays Cavtat,
go back to the year 47 B.C. In the
political upheavals between Caesar
and Pompey the city which belonged
to the Romans took Caesar’s side.
This later proved to be a useful decision
because, after Caesar’s victory,
Epidaurus was granted the highest
rank: that of a colony.
In the area of Cavtat, including both
peninsulas and bays, numerous
remains of the former Illyrian and
Roman city have been found. However,
the most interesting for our
topic are the submarine archaeological
finds. When the Romans gained
control over antique Epidaurum it
became one of the major cities in the
region. The reason was trade. As a
safe harbour conveniently connected
with the hinterlands Epidaurum
developed into a trade centre. At
that time trade was predominantly
sea oriented. The reasons can be
found in cheaper sea transport and
poor land communications, which
developed only at the time of the Roman
Empire. Some research showed
that it was cheaper to transport
merchandise by boat from one end
of the Mediterranean to the other
than by land for only 75 miles. Apart
from several cases of coastal findings
and pieces of architecture the
Cavtat maritime zone comprises the
remains of three antique shipwrecks
with their cargoes and one more
recent shipwreck from the time of
Napoleon.
Wel c o m e to Du b r o v n i k 45