Archaeologists in Serbia are painstakingly brushing sand and soil off the ancient woodwork of a Roman ship discovered by miners in a vast opencast coal quarry. After an excavator at the Drmno mine uncovered some timber, experts from the site of a nearby former Roman settlement known as Viminacium rushed to try and preserve the skeleton of the ship. It is the second such discovery in the area since 2020. The vessel was part of a river fleet that served the sprawling and highly-developed Roman city of 45,000 people, which included temples, an amphitheater, fortifications, a forum, a palace, and aqueducts.
The hull of the ship, named Salme II, is well preserved. Its holds were full of amphorae – the clay shipping containers used by the ancient world. Salme II is one of the best-preserved ships from Roman times ever discovered.
The find is a milestone in the development of underwater archaeology, transforming how we study the past. It will give us a better understanding of the everyday life of the people who lived in this important Roman port and the economic relations they established with other places in the Mediterranean and beyond.
While shipworms have damaged some parts of the ship’s structure, the outer frame remains intact. It will be buried in layers of sand, geotextile, and stone to protect it from further weathering, and excavation work is planned for 2023.
Several finds have been made at the site, including rivets, sword fragments, and shield bosses. One man’s skeleton, SaII/1, was found in a relaxed supine position. The proximal lateral end of the right ulna and the distal lateral end of the left humerus have distinct traces of blade injuries. A dog skeleton was also found, cut in half.
In its most recent report to the UNESCO Executive Board, the Committee on the Heritage of Humanity called for action to protect the area and to ensure that the local population’s rights are respected, noting that the ad-hoc project to rehabilitate the ancient harbor had already been delayed by more than two years. It also highlighted that the Serbian government had not conducted a full Environmental Impact Assessment to expand the Drmno mine. The EU should make any future funding conditional on the country, demonstrating that it respects its international obligations.
FIAN joins the communities of Stari Kostolac and CEKOR in calling for urgent action from both the Serbian government and the EU to tackle the issue of coal-related pollution and to make any further funding conditional on the country implementing the European Union Green Agenda for the Western Balkans. As an EU candidate country, Serbia must fully respect its national and international environmental and human rights obligations.
Air pollution is an increasing concern in the region, and many people suffer from its harmful effects. This is why Bankwatch and FIAN are marking five years of working for cleaner air in Southeast Europe by highlighting the need to improve lignite emissions control policies in the region.
