The Brač Island Project was active from 2022-2025 with its focus on excavating the indigenous hillfort of Gradina Rat.
Our research questions guided our fieldwork. How can imported pottery of the 9th-5th c. BCE from eastern Italy and Greece found in the excavations at Gradina Rat be used to understand early trade routes through the Adriatic islands? How did these external contacts influence the architectural development of the hillfort? What was the impact of the Greek colonies founded in the 4th c. BCE on neighboring islands on the socio-economic conditions in the region? How did the occupants of Gradina Rat respond to changing conditions when it was integrated into the Roman Republic in the 1st c. BCE, and later into its Empire? Additionally, the significant Bronze Age remains presented us an unprecedented opportunity for a long durée study of the development at this nodal point in the landscape through the construction of the Iron Age hillfort and to its abandonment – a process that took nearly 1800 years.
This project is now in its publication phase.
The Brač Island Project 