16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

109 Zadar, Croatia | 26 September – 1 October 2021 Mario Radaljac Archeological Museum Zadar, Underwater Archeology Department, Zadar, Croatia St Nicholas’ Bay on the Island of Pag, Croatia St Nicholas’ Bay is situated in the Gulf of Pag, south of St Nicholas’ Cape and the so called Gate of Pag. Thanks to its position, the bay is sheltered from strong north-eastern wind (Cro. bura ), and partially also from the winds from southern and western directions. Just after rounding the Cape to enter St Nicholas’ Bay there is a small 15 th century church of St Nicholas. The Statute of Pag (1433) mentions this church as the place where the communal fee for wine trade should be paid. The site was active from the 15 th to the beginning of the 20 th century. A small commune of Pag entered the Venetian Stato del Mar in 1409, and through large saltpans and intense salt production received extra financial sup- port. After the building of New Pag, the maritime activities and trade probably intensified. Large amounts of archaeological material in St Nicholas’ Bay, dating from the 15 th to the 17 th century, support that presumption. Due to the geomorphology of the Gulf of Pag and climatic characteristics of St Nicholas’ Bay, we can assume that the Bay was used as the safe harbour and/ or the place for quarantine. This conclusion is supported by the historical sourc- es, and by the recent discovery of well-preserved ship remains dated to the 18 th century. This poster will illustrate the history of St Nicholas’ Bay and describe the discovery of the 18 th century ship.