16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

101 Zadar, Croatia | 26 September – 1 October 2021 Maja Kaleb International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, Croatia Potkamenica Bay Shipwreck, Croatia Archaeological excavations were carried out at the site of the shipwreck in Pot- kamenica Bay in 2020. The main goal when implementing this program was the research and documentation, although the most important was the protection of the ship structure threatened by further devastation. Besides the employees of the ICUA Zadar, the members of the UPA Rostrum Split participated in the project. In just 5 working days, 4 archaeological probes were opened at the position where it was determined that the ship structure was the best preserved. The excava- tion exposed a keel, measuring six metre in length with an interesting joint—an elaborate hook scarf, 35 partially preserved planks, and nine futtocks. The planks, which formed the ship’s outer shell strakes, were joined with a system of mortise and tenon joints with a practically uniformed spacing of approximately 17 - 20 cm. The frames were inserted after the fabrication of the planking (shell-first con- struction), and the discovered futtocks were joined with large treenails. Along with traces of burning on some parts of the structure (the futtocks and part of the outer planking), we also identified traces of pitch that was used to improve the impermeability of the constantly submerged parts of ship’s hull. According to the preliminary analysis of ceramic materials, the shipwreck dates to the end of the 4 th or the very beginning of the 5 th century. In addition to the classic design documentation of the floor plan and pro- file, about 1000 photos were taken for the purpose of rendering an orthophoto mosaic and a 3D model. Documenting of the ship’s remains would not be possible without the use of modern technology. In just 5 working days, the shipwreck was fully excavated and documented, followed by weeks of processing the collected information.