Excavations at the Cape of Soline in Privlaka near Zadar

Arheološka istraživanja provedena 2016. godine na rtu Soline na krajnjem sjeverozapadu Privlake dovela su novih spoznaja o crkvi sv. Kristofora i srednjovjekovnim solanama na prostoru Privlačkog gaza. Istraživanjima je utvrđeno kako objekt na rtu Soline ne predstavlja crkvu sv. Kristofora kako se dosada navodilo u literaturi, već se radi o skladištu srednjovjekovne solane čiji se ostatci nalaze pod morem uz obale rta. Crkva koja se spominje u razvijenom i kasnom srednjem vijeku ubicirana je na sjevernom dijelu otočića Školjić, a u sklopu razmatranja navedenog prostora multidisciplinarni pristup pridonio je spoznajama o promjenama krajolika od srednjeg vijeka do danas.In the northwest of Zadar, on the northwestern coast of Privlaka, there is the Cape Soline, where, along with other traces of human activity, a large elongated built object can be found. Since 1973, it has been thought that the southwestern part of this building is the church of St. Christopher. There is a mention of this church in medieval documents, but in the modern era, it was not known where it was located. In 2016, the Department of Archeology of the University of Zadar carried out archaeological excavations of the object. The finds revealed that it was a salt-magazine for a medieval salt-pan, parts of which are under the sea off the coast of Cape Soline. The excavations unearthed a rectangular object of the external dimensions 26.5 x 8.5 m. Also, at least two phases in the functioning of the object are noticeable since the two parts of the object show markedly different construction characteristics. Few movable finds that can be linked to the operation of the salt-pan date from the 14th to 16th century, and mostly belong to the 15th century. On studying the historical sources and the entire area of the Privlaka ford, the shallow space between the island of Vir and the land, the Islet Školjić proved to be the most probable location of the church of St. Christopher. The assumption was confirmed by a survey, which revealed a rectangular object in the north of the isle having an apse of identical shape in its east. The Islet is a vital part of the land connection between Vir and the mainland, which functioned in various ways because sea-level changes significantly changed the landscape. To outline these changes, a multidisciplinary approach to landscape archaeology was necessary. The studying of the written and cartographic sources, toponymy and geography made it possible to supplement the results of the archaeological research and showed the Privlaka Gaz as an ideal space for such studies