2010 Raffle
Each summer I go to
the island of St. Clement (Sveti Klement) off the coast of
Croatia where I serve as the project photographer.
St. Clement is a small island with no roads or electricity,
located a 20-minute boat ride from the larger island of
Hvar which is
reached by ferry from the major Croatian coastal city of
Split.
The site, Soline, dates to Roman times, and has been
thought to have utilized the adjacent bay for salt
production, hence its name. Standing walls and
postsherds have given evidence of its antiquity. There is
an excavation house where we stay, have breakfast
overlooking the site
and sort our pottery. Accommodations for staff, students,
and volunteers on the island are in the
small group of houses which comprise the community of
Vlaka.
During the first season (2007) we did a magnetic resonance
survey of the site and were able to plot a number of walls
buried under
the present ground level at the water's edge, and did an
exploratory probe, finding some of the walls indicated from
our survey.
In 2008 we uncovered an unusual building ("Building A")
with very thick walls, perhaps used for storage and which
had remnants of mosaics, an indication
of a building of some importance. Greek potsherds as old as
the 3rd century, BC were found, beside many Roman
potsherds. On visiting our work at the
site, officials from the Croatian Conservation Office gave
Soline the designation of an officially protected
archaeological site.
In 2009 we made excavations near "Building A" and dug
probes along the architectural feature of the site,a
freestanding wall almost 20 meters long
and 2 meters high. One of the students mapped the bay and
confirmed evidence of series of walls consistent with Roman
salt production.
In 2010 we will be clearing more of the site and will be
making more non intrusive surveys of the site, digging
probes, exploring the nearby area,
and investigating another Roman building found in a bay
about a half hour's walk from our main site, Soline.
To help support this effort, last year I begun offering a
custom end table, coffee table, or wall sculpture to be
awarded via raffle.
Last year's winner asked for a hall table (above) 52" x 15"
x 29" high, done in
bookmatched burl veneers. It now stands in their home.
This year's drawing is to be held April 15, 2010. Tickets
received after that date will be returned.
Estimated value, $3,000. Suggested donation $5 (per ticket,
please).
2010 Raffle Ticket
The St. Clement
Archaeological Society
3108 32nd Ave
NE
Minneapolis,
Minnesota, 55418
Visit the website to see maps, photographs, and
further information about this project;
www.stclementarchaeology.org
