Multidisciplinary insight into late Roman rural settlement on the northeastern Adriatic coast of Croatia: Island of Rab case study

Abstract

Results of multidisciplinary research conducted on the island of Rab (Northeastern Adriatic, Croatia) are presented with particular focus on late Roman rural settlements and their economic activities. The settlement in Podšilo bay, Lopar peninsula, is analyzed in more detail, providing evidence on a vibrant local community engaged in diversified craft activities and the exploitation of local land and marine resources. Along with the specificities of its layout and organization, this site also presents unique possibilities to study environmental factors that influenced its setup and economy, but also its demise, tentatively placed within the 6th century AD.

Keywords

• Northeastern Adriatic
• Roman province Dalmatia
• Roman rural settlement
• pottery production
• archeological geophysics
• geoarcheology