Croatia - Loron

Mission “Istria and the sea” - Loron (Croatia)

The survey on the development of the coast of Roman Istria, which originally had Loron, a major oil amphorae production centre (1ST-6TH CENTURES A.D.), as its focus, has been broadened to the Parentin coast and marine activities. Since 2003, the Franco-Croatian team has worked with an Italian team from the University of Padua, and has been boosted by an underwater team and the contribution of experts in archae-conchylyology and archae-ichthyology.

This new orientation showed that a villa with its own port and production facilities and evidence of agricultural and maritime activity dominated each bay. It also emphasised that Loron played a dynamic role as an economic centre for the entire North Parentin area. Since the beginning of the Roman Empire, Loron has been at the centre of a large domain, first senatorial, then imperial from the time of Domitian. It was part of a vast maritime complex built around the two bays of Cervar and Santa Marina (fig. 2), in the north of Parentium (Porec), one of the three cities in Istria. Excavation works uncovered a structure unusual both in terms of its dimensions and layout (fig. 3).

The building discovered is exceptional due to its wealth, quality and diversity. First of all, it contains Dressel 6B* amphorae (fig. 4) produced on site for the storage and exportation of quality oil: indeed, Loron was one of the most important amphorae workshops, not just in Istria (alongside that of Fasana), but also in the Adriatic, and without doubt whose production is best-known.

Apart from oil amphorae, Loron also produced small Dressel 6B amphorettes (fig. 4) that could be used to store and transport garum*. The building also revealed other sources of revenue, in particular the production of fine sigillata crockery*, as well as everyday ceramic vases, lamps, construction materials and weights for fishing nets. At the same time, underwater excavations just north of Loron uncovered a series of port facilities of a large maritime villa in the Bay of Valetta, an enormous fishpond in Kupanja (fig. 5), near Loron, and to the south a wharf in the Bay of Busuja linked to another large villa. These excavations highlight close ties between these structures and the Loron complex.