Field reconnaissance, geophysical survey and trial excavations within the project "Archaeological topography of the island of Rab" in 2017

A series of field and geophysical surveys were carried out in September 2017 on multiple sites on the island of Rab, in particular within Lopar peninsula, where trial excavations have also been conducted. The activities were carried out thanks to the collaboration of the Institute of archaeology in Zagreb (Dr. A. Konestra), the Institute of Archaeology of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw (Dr. hab. F. Welc, geophysical measurements and data processing) and the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb (A. Dugonjic). All sites included in the activities are of Roman - late Roman date and of probable rural-productive character. Thanks to the interdisciplinary approach, data gathered allows to shed light on the sites' extent, chronology and inter-site relations. Part of the activities were carried out within the framework of project RED - Roman economy in Dalmatia of the Croatian science foundation (IP-11-2013-3973). Geophysical surveys, including Ground - Penetrating Radar (GPR) and the magnetic (gradiometer) method, were conducted on the sites Za Markovicem (Konestra et al. 2017), Lukovac (Causevic-Bully, Bully 2014) and in six areas within Podsilo bay on Lopar (Fig. 1). On the basis of their results, a trial trench has been positioned at the Podkucine site (Area 1) (Fig. 4), yielding architecture and stratigraphic remains of the eastern section of a quadrangular 11 x 11 m sized building. Small finds suggest the construction and use of the building within the 4th-6th c., while the find of a column base indicates the possibility of the existence of a porch or colonnade (Fig. 5). Prospections carried out at two other locations within Podsilo bay (Areas 3 and 5) (Fig. 3), resulted in definition of two rectangular structures on the northern slopes of the bay and, nearby a previously excavated pottery kiln (Lipovac Vrkljan, Siljeg 2012), the badly preserved remains of another kiln. Field survey on the shores in the Barbat area located a scatter of pottery finds, probably pertaining to a coastal settlement of late Roman date and destroyed by later infrastructural activities.