Clues to Croatia's Past

Archaeologists have made what, they believe, may be one of the most significant archaeological finds of the last 50 years.

Staff at the Institute for Archaeology and Antiquity, at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, supported by the British and Slovene Academies, have identified the Valley of the River Cetina, in Croatia, as one of the most important archaeological wetlands in Europe.

Dr Vincent Gaffney and Dr David Smith are particularly excited by the exceptional preservation on the site, giving them a major opportunity to map the early history of everyday life within the region.

Very little is known about early settlement in the Balkans but the Cetina Valley shows signs of a series of preserved wooden dwellings that may be comparable to the famous Swiss lake settlements. Early investigations have found a remarkable variety of objects which appear to have been thrown into the river deliberately, including swords, helmets, axes and many stone and metal objects some of which have been, literally, picked up from the river bed.

Dr Gaffney has described the finds at Cetina as being amongst the most remarkable of his career.