Underwater archaeology in the Croatian rivers

Istraživanje materijalnih ostataka i njihovog arheološkog konteksta u koritima rijeka i riječnim obalama pripada domeni istraživanja podvodne arheologije u unutrašnjim vodama. Na prostoru Republike Hrvatske interes za arheologiju rijeka najprije se pojavio već početkom 20. st., prilikom odrađivanja regulacijskih radova na koritu rijeke Kupe. No, ratno-političkim okolnostima pauzirane su daljnje arheološke aktivnosti. Tek se je u drugoj polovici istoga stoljeća ponovno stvorila svijest o značaju podvodne arheologije, ali se ona zadržala na prostoru podmorja. Posljednjih se nekoliko desetljeća istraživanje u rijekama razvija svugdje na prostoru Europe pa tako i u Hrvatskoj. Sve veći broj terenskih pregleda, ali i pojava prvih sustavnih podvodnih istraživanja riječnih korita, omogućuje i prilagodbu, a samim time, i razvitak metodološkog pristupa ovakvim lokalitetima. Ovim se je radom pokušalo obuhvatiti najvažnija podvodna istraživanja provedena u rijekama na prostoru Republike Hrvatske.The research of material remains and their archeological context in riverbeds and river banks belongs to the domain of research of underwater archaeology in inland waters. On the territory of the Republic of Croatia, interest in riverine archaeology first appeared as early as the beginning of the 20th century, during regulatory works on the Kupa riverbed. However, further archaeological activities were suspended due to war and political circumstances. It was not until the second half of the same century that awareness of the importance of underwater archaeology was re-established, but it remained in the submarine area. In the last few decades, research of rivers has been developing everywhere in Europe, including Croatia. An increasing number of field surveys, but also the emergence of the first systematic underwater research of riverbeds, allows the adaptation, and thus the development of a methodological approach to such sites. This paper tried to include the most important underwater research conducted in rivers in the Republic of Croatia