A shipwreck found off the Croatian island of Vis has revealed an extraordinary collection of ancient pottery, personal belongings and surviving wooden remains inside a merchant vessel that once sailed the Adriatic Sea. The 2,300-year-old wreck has brought to light objects that offer a glimpse into the lives of sailors during the Hellenistic period. The findings were announced by the Croatian Conservation Institute on October 4, highlighting discoveries made during archaeological investigations between 2023 and 2025.The shipwreck dates to approximately the fourth or third century BCE, when Greek settlements and local communities maintained extensive trading connections across the Adriatic. It lies in Gnjilna Bay, near the town of Komiža on Vis, an island along Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. Archaeologists initially knew the site through a small number of fragments belonging to Corinthian type B amphorae, large ceramic containers commonly used to transport wine and olive oil. Subsequent investigation revealed that the seabed was concealing more than a scattered cargo of ancient jars.
Unique archaeological finds
Underwater archaeologists uncovered parts of the vessel itself, equipment, coins, animal bones, and a remarkable assortment of ceramic objects. Among the most unique finds are nearly six metres of preserved wooden ship structure, finely crafted drinking vessels, pottery bearing possible personal names and a coin dating to the fourth century BCE.One of the most significant discoveries came when archaeologists exposed portions of the vessel’s wooden construction. Archaeologists discovered approximately six metres of surviving hull structure, including part of the keel and attached wooden planking. Researchers also recovered a lead component from a ship’s anchor, identified as belonging to the Haldane II A type. Together with the amphora fragments, this object helped establish the shipwreck’s preliminary date.These timbers provide an opportunity to investigate how shipbuilders constructed merchant vessels more than two millennia ago. While pottery can reveal what a ship carried, surviving wooden components offer evidence of the vessel that transported those goods.Another striking aspect of the find is the ceramic collection. Instead of finding the transport containers associated with merchant ships, archaeologists encountered an assortment of smaller vessels connected to drinking, serving and everyday activities. Among the finds are skyphoi, drinking cups with handles; kantharoi, distinctive vessels associated with wine drinking; and askoi, small containers designed for pouring liquids. The collection also includes bowls, plates, salt dishes, and aryballoi, small vessels commonly associated with oils or perfumes.Among the shipwreck’s discoveries is a coin from ancient Pharos dating to the fourth century BCE. Although a single coin cannot establish the vessel’s precise route, it adds another link to the commercial and cultural environment in which the ship operated.
The maritime trade of the past
The drinking vessels also connect the discovery to the ancient city of Issa, established on Vis during the fourth century BCE. Issa later became famous for its wine, a product that helped shape the island’s economic identity in antiquity.According to the Croatian Conservation Institute, the assemblage represents the first identified shipwreck with finds of Greek fine pottery, making Gnjilna particularly important for understanding the objects that accompanied maritime trade. It provides valuable evidence of the commercial networks that linked Greek settlements, Italian coastal communities, and the eastern Adriatic during the Hellenistic period.A 2022 scientific study by archaeologists Maja Miše and Patrick Sean Quinn examined 248 amphora fragments from 15 archaeological sites across the Dalmatian region, including Gnjilna. Their research, published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, used the composition of the pottery to investigate where ancient transport containers originated and how they circulated through maritime trade networks. The analysis revealed an especially interesting detail about the Gnjilna cargo. Although the merchant vessel carried two different forms of Corinthian amphorae, identified as type A′ and type B, researchers concluded that they originated from the same production workshop.Gnjilna’s cargo belongs to a period when Issa on Vis and Pharos on neighbouring Hvar were becoming important centres of Greek settlement and commerce. These communities maintained connections with populations along the Dalmatian coast, while merchants carried wine, olive oil, and other commodities between ports.The shipwreck now offers archaeologists evidence of the commercial and human sides of a maritime journey along the Adriatic seabed more than 2,000 years ago.
