Hvar, Island of Sv. Klement, Soline Bay, Archaeological Excavations 2011

Tijekom lipnja 2011. nastavljena su istraživanja na rimskoj vili smještenoj u uvali Soline otoka Sv. Klement zapadno od grada Hvara (otoka Hvara). Tri sonde istražene su do živca, a kao sastavni dio interdisciplinarnog pristupa istraživanju ove rimske vile izvršena je i arhitektonska analiza novotkrivene arhitekture, analiza statike i stanja vidljivih zidova, te geološki pregled terena.During June of 2011 the investigations of the Roman villa located in Soline Bay on the island of St. Clement (Sv. Klement near Hvar) continued in its fifth season. Researchers from four institutions (Hvar Heritage Museum, Institute of Archaeology, University of St. Thomas, Institute of Archaeology at the University of Graz) collaborated on the project, with a number of student and volunteer participants. As part of the interdisciplinary research three probes (4, 5 and 6) were excavated, an architectural analysis of the uncovered structures was conducted and the condition of the standing architecture was analyzed. In addition, a geologist surveyed the site and analyzed mortar from the walls and floors. The location of test probes was based on the data obtained by the magnetometric survey in 2010. The objective was to document and clarify spatial and stratigraphic relationship between different periods of construction in three targeted areas. Probe 4 was an expansion of Probe 2 from 2010, where 17 stratigraphic units were documented. The expected north continuation of wall B was found only in its foundation of late antique construction. There was a segment of a thick floor made of Roman waterproof mortar abutting the wall foundation. An 18 cm-long section of a lead pipe was found inserted in the wall under that floor. The probe was obviously located within a room of the late antique phase of the villa. The expected wall of an earlier phase was not found, only the bedrock. Probe 5 was an expansion of Probe 3 from 2010, located east of the long wall B, where seven stratigraphic units were recorded above the bedrock, but no walls were found. Probe 6 was set up to the west of wall B, where the magnetometry indicated a north-south wall parallel with that wall (c. 12.5 m apart) and several rooms lined up along that wall. We attempted to uncover one of those rooms. Fourteen stratigraphic units were documented. Probe 6 was the only trench that confirmed the results of the 2010 magnetometry, with the finding of an E-W wall and partial interior of a room. The eastern half of the probe yielded a floor made of chipped stone in lime mortar of an undetermined, perhaps late-antique date. The soil fill below was the first closed deposit found at the site. It contained small pottery fragments dating from the late Hellenistic period and some sherds of Gnathia ware. The western part of the probe was outside the room. Further excavation in this area must continue the next season in order to uncover the entire room and to clarify its function and any phases of construction and transformation. Pottery fragments, mostly small and poorly preserved, predominated among the finds from this season. They could be dated between the late Hellenistic period and Late Antiquity, with a few later fragments. We documented 23 special finds of pottery, metal and glass