The Museum of the Franciscan Monastery Tolisa “Vrata Bosne” (“The Gate of Bosnia”), which preserves the valuable historical and cultural-artistic treasures of Posavina, is a witness to the life, times, and people of this region, from the Neolithic period through the Roman era and the Middle Ages, all the way to the modern age. In its ongoing research into the rich history, the museum is once again on the verge of a major archaeological discovery. In the Sava River, an unprecedented quantity of bipyramidal ingots – rare metal bars believed to be more than 2.000 years old – has been found and excavated.
Pero Matkic from Ugljara near Orasje has been researching the history of this area for four decades. The number of ingots discovered in Posavina almost exceeds their total number in all of Europe.
“Ingots were iron objects intended for further processing – that is, through forging, they were turned into tools, weapons, swords, spears, etc. In this case, we are talking about a large quantity, nearly two hundred pieces. Their weight is about two to two and a half kilograms,” emphasized Krunoslav Zupcic, an underwater archaeologist from the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute in Zagreb.
“Since this is a very large discovery and exceeds our capabilities, and even the capabilities of the Croatian Conservation Institute, we will have to seek help – primarily financial, but also expert – from other museums and institutions, both in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and in Croatia,” said Jozo Jezercic, director of the Museum of the Franciscan Monastery Tolisa “Vrata Bosne.”
This exceptionally important first find of its kind in Posavina is the beginning of larger and more complex research, and analysis will determine from which century the discovered specimens date. Zupcic roughly estimates that they are from the first or possibly the second century BC.
“By chemical analysis of rare elements, it could be determined from which ore deposit the ore was taken, and that would then tell us about the trade itself, whether the material was a local raw material or possibly imported from some Noricum, that is, the area of present-day Slovenia,” he explained.
Matkic noticed the valuable find in the Sava last year, and alongside underwater archaeologist Zupcic, his expert associate Nikica Spudic, a member of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service Karlovac, also participated in the diving and excavation.
“Krunoslav Zupcic suggested that we also collaborate with Germany, Slovenia, and France, since these ingots are more significant and are more often found in the territory of France, Germany, and Hungary, so we will establish contact with those museums, that is, experts from that area,” stated Jezercic.
Experts believe that this new spectacular discovery could change the view of the role of this region in ancient trade and economy, and show that Bosnian Posavina was a far more important center than previously assumed. Until now, in BiH, only one specimen of an ingot was preserved, in the National Museum in Sarajevo.
