Page 13 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

Dip Your Finger in the Sea... Geoarchaeological View on Coastal Setting and Maritime
Accessibility of the Coastal Town of Osor, Northern Adriatic 1
Potopi prst v morje … Geoarheološki pogled na obalno okolje in pomorsko dostopnost
obalnega mesta Osor v severnem Jadranu

Slobodan Miko Tim Kinnaird
Croatian Geological Survey School of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
smiko@hgi-cgs.hr University of St Andrews
tk17@st-andrews.ac.uk
Nives Doneus
Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS), Petra Hus
University of Vienna Croatian Geological Survey
Human Evolution & Archaeological Sciences phus@hgi-cgs.hr
(HEAS), University of Vienna Filip Šegović 13
nives.doneus@univie.ac.at
Croatian Geological Survey
Dea Brunović fsegovic@hgi-cgs.hr
Croatian Geological Survey Nikolina Ilijanić
dbrunovic@hgi-cgs.hr
Croatian Geological Survey
Ozren Hasan nikolina.ilijanic@hgi-cgs.hr
Croatian Geological Survey Martina Šparica Miko
ohasan@hgi-cgs.hr
Croatian Geological Survey
Michael Doneus mtsparica@hgi-cgs.hr
Department of Prehistoric and Historical Martin Fera
Archaeology, University of Vienna
Human Evolution & Archaeological Sciences Human Evolution & Archaeological Sciences
(HEAS), University of Vienna
(HEAS), University of Vienna Natural History Museum, Vienna
michael.doneus@univie.ac.at
martin.fera@univie.ac.at

Abstract
Erosion, sedimentation and rising sea levels can have a significant impact on archaeological research.
They have altered the coastline and small-scale topography, both above and below the water’s surface.
Consequently, the spatial context of historical coastal cities and settlements is lost forever. Osor, an Iron
Age and Roman town situated on the island of Cres in the northern Adriatic, exemplifies the method-
ological challenges posed by coastal archaeological sites.
In such cases, geoarchaeological studies can provide insights into the course of these changes, thus con-
tributing to a better understanding of the past. In the case of Osor, the focus was on how its coastal loca-
tion and maritime accessibility have changed since prehistoric times. In this context, the presumed lo-
cations of the city’s ports and the formation of the Osor Channel were investigated. The study reports
the results of these investigations and provides evidence that the Osor Channel evolved naturally and
that some form of marine communication was feasible during the Bronze Age,rather than being created
by means of human intervention during the Iron Age or Roman period. Using the OSL-PD method,
Jaz Bay is ruled out as a Roman port, and the possible urban harbour in Bijar Bay is briefly examined.
Keywords: Osor, geoarchaeology, Osor Channel, ALS/ALB, OSL profiling and dating

1 Reseach data will be published in the repository of University of Primorska.
https://doi.org/10.26493/2350-5443.13(2)13-40 © author/authors