THE SECRET CAVE CITY HIDDEN IN THE CLIFFS (LOVRANSKA DRAGA CANYON, ISTRIA, CROATIA)
THE SECRET CAVE CITY HIDDEN IN THE CLIFFS
(LOVRANSKA DRAGA CANYON, ISTRIA, CROATIA)
Darko KOMŠO* and Martina BLEČIĆ**
*
Archaeological Museum of Istria, Pula, Croatia; e-mail:
[email protected]
**
Ministry of Culture, Croatia, e-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract. Lovranska Canyon is very important archaeological area, with more than 30 caves. Project Oraj with the main goal of
understanding the use of caves in the microregion started in 2006. Fourteen caves were recorded and mapped, and one cave was
excavated. The most important record is the understanding of complex structural organization of the whole network of caves during
the Late Roman period. The preliminary results are excellent, and confirm that projects whose main goal is to study entire network of
sites in the region can obtain more structured and sophisticated results then the ones that focus on the single sites.
Keywords: Croatia, cave, burial, site structure, site network
Résumé. Le canyon de Lovranska est une zone archéologique très importante, qui compte plus de 30 grottes. Le projet « Oraj » a
débuté en 2006 avec pour objectif de connaître l’utilisation des grottes dans cette microrégion. Quatorze grottes ont été répertoriées
et cartographiées; une a été fouillée. Le résultat le plus important a été la compréhension de l’organisation structurale complexe de
tout un réseau des grottes pendant l’Antiquité tardive. Les résultats préliminaires sont excellents et confirment qu’un projet ayant
pour but la connaissance d’un important réseau de sites dans ladite région peut obtenir des résultats encore plus concrets et affinés
que les projets qui se focalisent sur un seul site.
Mots-clés: Croatie, grotte, sépulture, site structuré, réseau de site.
homogenous gray dolomites that turn into limestone of
Cretaceous and Paleogene origin. The cliffs are carbonate
in composition and in some areas there are compound
overlaps of carbonate and flisch complex (Klepač 1987).
Caves represent an important source of archeological
information worldwide. Their importance lies in the fact
that they are spatially defined entities, natural shelters,
places that attract both people and animals with their
favorable conditions, and also provide excellent
storehouses of human artifacts and activities. Human
communities rarely inhabited only one cave for a long
period of time. They rather used a network of caves in a
region, moving between them depending on the season of
the year, the different resources to be exploited and
activities. Caves were used in numerous ways: as living
space, livestock sheds, refugee camps, cult places, burial
grounds, and so on. Caves are more important for
prehistoric sequences although interesting results are
achieved also for the Roman and the medieval periods.
The numerous caves and rock shelters in the area have
attracted the attention of many researchers ever since the
beginning of the 20th century (Komšo 2003). The first
recorded excavation in the Oporovina cave was carried
out by Belario de Lengyel in 1929 when he registered the
first prehistoric sequence in a cave site on the coast of the
Kvarner Bay (Lengyel 1933; Malez 1986). Further
research was conducted by Mirko Malez during 1953
(Malez 1960, 1974, 1986), with the discovery of a human
burial that he dated to the Mesolithic period. At the end
of the 1980’s and the beginning of the 1990’s, Ranko
Starac conducted small-scale test excavations in the caves
of Lovranska Draga, Oporovina and Vrtaška Cave. In
Oporovina cave he recorded finds from Copper, Bronze
and Iron Ages, as well as burials and numerous finds
from the Late Roman period. In Vrtaška Cave, finds from
the Bronze Age and Late Roman period were recorded
(Starac 1987, 1994, 2000).
The Istria peninsula has 227 recorded caves, 75 of which
contained archeological finds. Most of the caves are
located in the eastern and northern Istria, on the slopes of
the Ćićarija and Učka Mountains (Komšo 2003). In this
region, in the Lovranska Draga Canyon, during spring
2006, a multidisciplinary project Oraj was initiated. The
main goal of this project was to understand the changes in
patterns of cave use in the micro region from prehistory
until today.
RESEARCH 2006
This paper presents the preliminary results from this
year’s initial season of research, lasting from 8th till 15th
of April 2006. Previous investigations were concentrated
on particular caves of the Lovranska Draga, while the
Oraj project focused its attention on the Canyon as a
whole.
LOCATION AND HISTORY OF EXCAVATION
Lovranska Draga is situated in the eastern part of Istria
coast, on the slopes of the Učka Mountain. It is about 4
km long, 1 km wide, starts at the sea and ends at about
800 m above the sea level. The canyon is closed and
compact in its microclimatic conditions, with one side
open towards the sea at the Medveja cove. In geological
sense, the bedrock formations are dolomites and
Parts of northern and southern side of the Canyon have
been surveyed. During this stage 14 caves were recorded
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PRÉS DU BORD D’UN ABRI / ON SHELTER’S LEDGE
16.1 The eastern cliffs of the Lovranska Draga Canyon. 1. Oporovina Cave; 2. Abri Cisterna; 3. Abri Uho
and mapped: Oporovina, Zemunica, Abri Kosača 1 - 6,
Abri Uho, Abri Cisterna on the east side (Figure 16.1)
and Vrtaška caves 1 - 4 on the west side of the Canyon.
In most of the caves numerous traces of human activities
have been recorded (Oporovina, Abri Kosača 1, 3 - 6,
Abri Cisterna, Abri Uho, Zemunica, Vrtaška cave 1).
Two small test trenches were opened in the largest cave
of the canyon, Oporovina.
OPOROVINA
Oporovina cave is located on the northern cliffs of the
Lovranska Draga, at about 270 m above the sea level.
The entrance has a triangular shape, and is15 m wide and
14 m high. The main chamber is composed of two
chambers: the main one is 63 m long and the smaller one
is 20 m long. In front of the entrance there is a small
terrace. The terrace and the entrance-space are especially
interesting because of a great number of stairs, and
semicircular and circular grooves and recesses, hewn into
the bedrock during the 5th and 6th century AD. These
grooves used to support a multi-storied wooden
construction (6 levels of grooves were recorded), which
was placed in the terrace and the entrance part of the cave
(Figure 16.2). Well protected and illuminated by the sun
all day, it was convenient for longer stays of large
number of people.
16.2 Oporovina, remains of the grooves in the cave wall
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THE SECRET CAVE CITY HIDDEN IN THE CLIFFS (LOVRANSKA DRAGA CANYON, ISTRIA, CROATIA)
uncovered (Figure 16.3). Differently from other
contemporaneous burials in the Istria peninsula, the
bodies where laid down in contorted position and
according to the types of costume of the deceased, they
can be dated to the 5th and 6th century AD. Malez’s
mesolithic date for the burial he excavated could
therefore be rejected. These burials are probably
contemporaneous with the above mentioned modification
of the terrace in front of the cave. This is the time of the
first penetrations of invading enemies into Istria and Italic
peninsula. It is possible that this cave was initially used
by the local population to avoid contact with the
intruders. Further modification to the cave environment,
the building of complex structures, and the presence of
burials testify to the long duration of what was perhaps
supposed to be just a temporary shelter.
ABRI CISTERNA
Abri Cisterna is located high on a vertical cliff, several
dozens meters to the south, at the same altitude as
Oporovina cave. A path hewn into the cliff itself leads
from Oporovina cave to Abri Cisterna. This rockshelter
cotains visible remains of a Late Roman water reservoir,
grooves and carved stairs on the bedrock. It is evident
that this cave was used as a water reservoir for
inhabitants of Oporovina.
ABRI UHO
Abri Uho is situated at about 50 m north from Oporovina
cave, 228 m above the sea level. It is fascinating that,
except for the hewn grooves and stairs that lead to a
higher level, the rockshelter also contains 15 carved
crosses (Figure 16.4). They appear in different
compositions and are of different styles. Therefore it is
possible that they are not all of the same origin. Their set
up and way of depiction is interesting, most intriguing
being the ones with co-directional arms placed in circles.
This rockshelter might have been used as a hermitic
monastic housing or a place dedicated to meditation and
religious practices by the Oporovina inhabitants.
16.3 Oporovina, human burials in the second trench
The excavation was carried out in the main chamber,
where two trenches were opened. The first trench was
placed in the front part of the chamber close to the cave
wall. The second one was placed in the back of the cave
underneath the cascade-shaped layers of dripstones,
where Malez recorded the human burial. The first trench,
with a 4 m2 surface area, was excavated to a depth of 65
cm, during which excavation various cultural layers with
human occupation and artificial pits used for waste
disposal were recorded. Pottery, objects made of bone
and antler, flint artifacts, as well as metal fragments of
attire and jewelry, were found. Together with these
objects there were numerous animal bones and an
extraordinary abundance of sea shells testifying of
diverse nutritional choice and habits of the communities
that occupied the cave. After preliminary analysis of the
finds, we can confirm that the chamber space has been
used during the Late Neolithic and Copper age, as well as
Late Roman period. The most interesting finds came from
the second trench, where five human burials were
VRTAŠKA CAVE 1
On a very inaccessible place at the opposite side of the
Canyon, 256 m above the sea level are Vrtaške Caves.
Among the local population they are also known as the
Greek caves. Stone constructions with preserved height
of about 4 m, probably a fortress wall, as well as grooves
and remnants of carved stairs in the bedrock, were still
preserved. Former excavations dated the use of cave to
the Late Roman period identical to the one in Oporovina
cave, as well as to the Bronze Age.
CONCLUSION
Based on preliminary results, we can propose how the
pattern of cave use changed over time in Lovranska
Draga. During the Late Neolithic and Copper Age only
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16.4 Abri Uho, carved and hewn crosses
Oporovina and Abri Kosača 1, located on the eastern side
of the Canyon were more or less intensively used as
seasonal habitation. Vrtaška cave 1, situated on the
western and less accessible side of the Canyon was
occasionally used during the Bronze Age. During this
period also Oporovina is still in use.
Our first research season returned interesting results and
confirmed some of our initial expectations. Also, it has
confirmed that projects whose main goal is to study entire
network of sites in the region can obtain more structured
and sophisticated results then the ones that focus on the
single sites.
Lovranska Draga underwent dramatic change and gained
true significance during the 5th and 6th century, in the
Late Roman period, when, threatened by the invading
enemies coming from the east, the whole network of
caves was transformed into a functional rescue
settlement. Every rockshelter has its own special quality
that distinguishes it from others, and still they are all
connected with the largest and most important Oporovina
cave. The Oporovina cave is the central point of this
network, where a multistoried wooden construction has
been built and where the largest part of the community
lived and buried their dead. Numerous rock shelters were
linked to the main locale and they were probably used by
smaller, more specialized groups. At a close distance to
Oporovina cave, a water reservoir was built in the Abri
Cisterna, while Abri Uho seems to have been a place
where religious practices were the main focus. Vrtaška
cave was transformed into a fortress and it was probably
the last resort for the population to seek shelter from
invading enemies. We can see how the local population
erected the secret cave city hidden in the cliffs of
Lovranska Draga under such a threat. The caves were
then abandoned and went forgotten until recently.
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