Gaspari et al.

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK 58, 2007

Andrej GASPARI, Verena VIDRIH PERKO, Metka ŠTRAJHAR and Irena LAZAR

The Roman port complex at Fizine near Portorož - rescue excavations in 1998

Abstract

This article discusses the results of archaeological rescue excavations at Fizine in 1998. The remains of multiphase Roman architecture were documented in a small trench, along with an accompanying stratigraphic sequence containing small material remains. The remains most probably belong to a small settlement with a harbor, which supplements knowledge of the hinterland of Piran in the period between the middle of the 1st century BC and the late Roman period. The insufficiently documented earliest phase is marked by pottery with a black slip, amphorae, and coarse ware, most probably related to an embankment of massive stones. The walls of a larger structure with accompanying finds belong to the end of the 1st and the 2nd centuries. The settlement reached its peak in the period between the 4th and the first half of the 5th century, as represented in addition to architecture by the numerous fragments of amphorae and tableware of African production, coins, and shipbuilding and fishing implements. The data from the excavations on land correspond well to the preserved structure with two closed pools which is located on the seabed along the western edge of the cove. Given their dimensions, analogies from Istria and the broader vicinity, and the presence of a fresh water spring, it can be concluded that this had been a fish farm with a pier or operational wharf for mooring the ships.

Keywords: Fizine, Piran, Istria, Roman period, trade, amphorae, port, fish farm, ships

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