Underwater Road Leads to Ancient Hvar Settlement

The Hvar culture spread throughout the Adriatic coast 7,000 years ago. Newly discovered underwater settlements reveal the ancient relics they left behind.

By Matt Hrodey
May 24, 2023 6:00 PM
Korcula island
Korcula island (Credit: goran_safarek/Shutterstock)

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Mate Parica is an archaeologist from the University of Zadar in Croatia, and in 2021, he discovered the sunken settlement of Soline after spotting something strange off the coast of the famous Croatian island of Korcula, the reported birthplace of Marco Polo.

After spotting the darkened shape, he thought, “Maybe it is natural, maybe not,” he later told Reuters.

A specialist in underwater archaeology, Parica thought he’d spotted a manmade structure submerged off the island’s eastern coast, so he and a colleague went to investigate.

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