Page 16 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

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studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 13 (2025), številka 2 / volume 13 (2025), number 2

Figure 2: Osor Channel Between the Islands of Cres (on the Right) and Lošinj (on the Left) (elaborated by Martin
Fera, 2023)
the Osor Channel. Recent rescue excavations in from Central Europe to the Eastern Mediterra-
Osor (2022–2025) uncovered further evidence nean. This would enable the inclusion of the city
of a Roman sewer system which presumably led harbour into long-distance maritime routes. Its
to the Osor Channel (Baričević 2023). Howev- role as a maritime node since the Iron Age is ev-
er, no physical connection could be established ident from spectacular finds, including a wide
between the sewer and the channel of Roman variety of goods from the Pannonian Plain, the
Osor. Italian peninsula, Macedonia and Greece (e.g.
Already Benndorf (1880) was of the opinion Blečić Kavur 2015; 2021).
that the location of Osor was chosen for strate- Given Osor’s strategic importance, it is sur-
gic reasons, namely, to control the narrow pas- prising that hardly any details are known about
sage between Cres and Lošinj. This passage com- its coastal setting in ancient times, especial-
prises the approx. 80-metre-long Osor Channel ly considering Osor’s potential as a maritime
and the 13-kilometre-long Lošinj Channel to the trading centre. These and a number of other re-
south. Together, they provide an alternative sail- search questions are therefore being addressed as
ing route between Cres and Lošinj, avoiding the part of the Osor beyond the myth project. Pal-
more exposed western shores of both islands. aeogeographic and paleoenvironmental recon-
Moreover, in a wider context, Osor can offer the structions of the submerged coastal areas are
first safe harbour on the route from Istria to Dal- particularly important for understanding the
matia after leaving the Istrian Peninsula. Con- archaeological record of Osor’s coastal setting.
trolling this passage would also allow some de- In the context of ongoing investigations, geoar-
gree of control to the communications network chaeological studies include coring, marine sur-