70
removed were certainly not in the least bit attractive, but
a closer examination revealed that they were a genuine
cultural-historical treasure. For the chest contained three
linen shirts, eight woollen caps, a small wooden box con-
taining weights and a precision scale, and an amazing 54
mof luxurious silk damask decoratedwith a floral pattern
and dyed purple.
On the same day as the opening of the chest, Grga Oštrić
sent a letter to the Kornati Recreational Diving Club in
which he addressed its members with these words: “After
the completion of the final phase of work on extracting
the cargo from the sunken sixteenth-century ship in the
Pašman Channel, we would like to express our gratitu-
de for the very successful cooperation. We particularly
appreciate the fact that you agreed to this without re-
muneration, thereby making the entire project possible.
The completed work was the first of its kind for both you
and us, and it is understandable that neither you nor we
were entirely prepared. The reverberations which this
campaign had in the public may bear bountiful fruit, as
underwater archaeology is no longer simply wishful thin-
king, as it is assuming a concrete form.”
October 1967 was an exceptionally trying but also exci-
ting month, as the research continued over nine working
days (23-31 October). The navy’s assistance was contin-
gent upon the smallest possible number of civilians, but
this time divers took care of documentation of the site,
while military divers continued to extract the finds. The
first photographs were taken and the site was sketched
by the already experienced recreational divers Jerko Do-
mančić and Dubravko Balenović. Among the multitude
of extracted objects, an entirely preserved decorated glass
bowl stood out. In the correspondence which preceded
the field activities, Ksenija Radulić clearly expressed the
ultimate aim of the research: “the objective of the campa-
ign is dual: to remove all objects of scholarly interest from
the sea; to remove the remains of the ship’s hull”.
The next campaign lasting fifteen days was organized
from 14 to 29 September 1968. Although much more
modestly equipped due to the absence of the Yugoslav
Navy, it was at a significantly higher level from the met-
hodological standpoint. A system of coordinates was set
up at the site with the help of strings, while the current
status was systematically documented with sketches and
photographs. On this occasion, besides the standard
finds, various wooden packing materials and a round
millstone were removed. This campaign was followed
by a four-year pause. Work continued only on the con-
servation and processing of the finds, which resulted in
publication of “Brodolom kod Gnalića; naše najbogati-
je hidroarheološko nalazište” [The Ship at Gnalić; Our
Richest Hydroarchaeological Site], prepared by Ivo Kelez,
Ivo Petricioli, Sofija Petricioli, Ksenija Radulić, Božidar
Vilhar and Valentin Uranija. This article was published
in the first issue of the journal
Vrulje
(Zadar, 1970), the
bulletin of the National Museum in Zadar. The Belgian
biti samo maštanje i počinje se konkretizirati.”.
Listopad 1967. godine bio je izrazito naporan ali i uzbud-
ljiv mjesec, jer se istraživanje nastavilo u trajanju od devet
radnih dana (23. – 31. listopada). Pomoć mornarice bila je
uvjetovana čimmanjimbrojemcivila, ali su ovoga puta ci-
vilni ronioci vodili brigu o dokumentiranju nalazišta, dok
su vojni ronioci nastavili vaditi nalaze. Prve fotografije i
nacrt nalazišta izradili su već spomenuti iskusni sportski
ronioci Jerko Domančić i Dubravko Balenović. Među
mnoštvom izvađenih predmeta posebno se isticala potpu-
no očuvana ukrašena staklena zdjela. U korespondenciji
koja je prethodila terenskimaktivnostima Ksenija Radulić
jasno je izrazila krajnji cilj istraživanja: “Zadatak akcije je
dvojak: izvaditi izmora sve predmete od naučnog interesa;
izvaditi ostatke brodskog korita.”.
Sljedeća akcija u trajanju od petnaest dana organizirana
je u vremenu od 14. do 29. rujna 1968. Iako po opremi
daleko skromnija, zbog izostavljenih snaga Jugoslavenske
ratne mornarice, ona je s metodološkog stanovišta bila
na znatno višoj razini. Na nalazište je uz pomoć konopa
postavljen koordinatni sustav, a postojeće stanje sustav-
no je nacrtno i fotografski dokumentirano. Tom je prili-
kom, uz već uobičajene nalaze, izvađena raznolika drvena
ambalaža i okrugli mlinski kamen, a potom je uslijedila
četverogodišnja stanka. Nastavilo se raditi tek na kon-
zerviranju i obradi nalaza, što je rezultiralo publikacijom
Brodolom kod Gnalića; naše najbogatije hidroarheološko
nalazište
, u čijoj su pripremi sudjelovali Ivo Kelez, Ivo Pe-
tricioli, Sofija Petricioli, Ksenija Radulić, Božidar Vilhar i
Valentin Uranija. Publikacija je tiskana kao prvi broj ča-
sopisa
Vrulje
(Zadar, 1970.), glasila Narodnog muzeja u
Zadru. Belgijski su ronioci, nažalost, i dalje ostali aktivni.
Tek 1970. godine ponovo su uhvaćeni na djelu i kažnjeni
oduzimanjem opreme i nalaza.
4. Vađenje željeznog sidra 1967.
4. Extraction of the iron anchor, 1967
