Museum-Aktuell: Das Museums-Portal, European Museums, Verlag Dr. Chr. Müller-Straten

The Archeological Collection Issa is housed in the fort built by Austria during their rule over Dalmatia. The fort is called Our Lady's Battery. It is situated in the centre of the spacious bay of Vis, and by its position it overlooks the surrounding buildings. It was built in the beginning of the 19th century. It played an important role in the Battle of Vis in 1866, when the Italian ships entered the bay, unsuccessfully trying to conquer the island. It is surrounded by a deep trench, there are embrasures in the walls and there is a spacious court in the centre of the fort. Today it houses a submarine archaeological, ethnographic and Hellenistic collection.

Submarine Archaeological Collection
Amphorae exhibited in this part were found in the bay of Vela Svitnja that is on the north side of the island of Vis and is the first bay to the west from the entrance to the deep bay of Vis. During years of research, 634 amphorae were brought to the surface, some of them still had a lid in their neck.
On the very entrance to the exhibition area, there is a reconstruction of the ancient three-meter-high anchor with the original lead stock. The tour begins with three information boards on the left that give the data about the placement, founding and the importance of Issa, and about the placement of the ancient port.
A large dolium has been preserved and partially restored and is placed in the centre of the left end of this exhibition room. The dolium is characteristic because of the holes made in the belly by a square chisel, in more or less straight lines. These perforated doliums were not found in any other parts of the Mediterranean, but are characteristic for the Adriatic, especially Vis, where large number of them have been found. Further on, there is a map of the Mediterranean that shows sites where amphorae, exhibited in the line, were manufactured. All of them are of different types, and all were brought to the surface in front of the bay of Vis or in Vis waters. Actually, they show the places in Mediterranean that Vis was in contact with throughout the centuries. First on the left is a Greek amphora dating from the 5th century B. C. manufactured in Corinth, rarely found in Croatia. On display in the right part of the exhibition area are two arms of the ancient anchors on metal shank, found in the bay of Vela Svitnja. One bar has a stamp C(ai) IVL(ii) CIS(si). The other one of similar size exhibited opposite this one has no inscription, but has four astragals on each side.
The rest of the exhibition area is occupied with amphorae presented in the same way they had been transported in cargo holds of the ancient ships. The ship's cargo were the Lamboglia 2 Type amphorae, dating from the end of the 2nd century B.C. to the middle of the 1st century B.C. Necks and the first amphorae have preserved stamps. They are mostly placed on handles, some on the rim. A lot of amphorae have a finger mark at the bottom of the handle. Some of the legible marks are MIOPI, PILIPI, L POT, M POT and others. The amphorae are set five rows in height. This is the only place in Croatia that presents amphorae in this fashion.

Exhibition Encountering The Heritage Museum of the Island of Vis

Archaeological-ethnographic and culturally-historic exhibition Encountering The Heritage Museum of the Island of Vis is set in the left part on the ground floor of the main building. Archaeological part is set in the entrance area. It is presented with various Greek pottery manufactured in the 3rd – 1st century B.C. They are vases that were used as dishes in everyday life of the Greeks in Issa. Opposite these showcases there are cylinder and square- shaped Roman stone urns. All these artifacts were found in the area of ancient Issa.
Further on, there are terracotta statuettes on display, the so-called Tanagra statues, followed by the relief of god Mars and stone heads. Two female heads are made of white marble, the third one is made of black Egyptian granite, and represents a bearded Silen. The whole room is decorated in photographs of the Issean monuments.
The next group depicts fishery of Vis, which is very important for the island. The central exhibit is the prow of a fishing boat with fishing and ship gear arranged around it.
Further on display there is furniture with Venetian cathedra, objects connected to ship building, wine production, transport and modern history. Most of these objects were made at the beginning of the 20th century, and they illustrate occupations that have been present on Vis throughout its history.

The Collection of Hellenistic Monuments
This exhibition area is the oldest part of the museum in Our Lady's Battery. It was put on display in 1983. It is placed on the first floor and is reached by a stone staircase leading from the ground floor. This is the largest collection of Hellenistic objects exhibited at one venue in Croatia.
The first section has information boards with data and photographs of the explorers of Issa, earlier private collections, the largest prehistoric barrow on the island, Greek colonization of the Adriatic, Issean colonization of Central Dalmatia, and the placement of the archaeological sites on the island.
Already in the 6th century B.C. Issa is in contact with the Greek world. The remains of those contacts can be seen in Corinthian aryballos, perfume bottles, kantharos of buccero type manufactured in Etruria and terracotta statuette possibly representing a goddess of the afterlife (Cora, Persephone).
Between the first and the second section, there is a map on the left wall, showing the plan of Issa and its sites. True treasury of Greek vases dating from the 4th to the 2nd century B.C. is on display in showcases.
The showcase no. 2 has south Italic vases of red-figure style on display. Those are hydria, kernos, lebes gamikos and lekanis. The vessels are dated in 3rd – 2nd century B.C. The most important among these is a hydria depicting a ceremony of family parting from a deceased woman inside an aedicule. This scene can frequently be found on tombstones.
The showcase no. 3 has the so-called Gnathia ceramics. It was named after a place called Enazio situated between Brindisi and Bari in Southern Italy. Gnathia vases appear as a South Italian version of red-figured vases, characteristic shapes are: oinochoe, a container for wine, pelike, a container for water and oil, skyphos, a glass, kantharos, hydriae and other forms. One of the main characteristics of these vessels are thin grooves on the surface of its belly.
In the central showcase of this section a bronze head of the goddess Artemis is exhibited. The head is idealized, look and the face expression reflect calmness. The statue was dated in the 4th century B.C. and represents one of the most important Greek bronze artifacts in Croatia.
In the following showcase no. 5 pottery that was probably manufactured in Issa is displayed. The forms of the vessels are the same as the previous ones, but these examples are slightly slimmer. The local manufacture in Issa was probably established in the 4th century, definitely in the 3rd century B.C., and lasted until the end of Hellenistic era and then continued during Roman Period. The showcase holds spindle-shaped unguentariums, weights for the loom, ceramic lamps and bottom part of the mould for making the Hellenistic relief pottery.
The showcase no 6 holds the so-called Upper Adriatic vases (alto adriatico) and black gloss or Campanian ceramics. Upper Adriatic vases were manufactured at the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. in the area of Spina and Adria, at the mouth of the river. Black gloss ceramics developed in the second half of the 4th century B.C., in the area of Mediterranean, especially Campania (Italy), therefore its name. Characteristics of this pottery are black gloss or shallow ornaments made by small stamps with the shapes of rosettes, palmettos, dolphins etc.
In the next exhibition hall there are two showcases in the form of a characteristic tomb in Issa. One of the characteristics of funerary tradition in Issa is that people were buried in family tombs mostly made of stone slabs. Sometimes there can be six or more deceased in one tomb.
Ceramic urns are placed around the showcases. One of the urns has the name of the deceased Proklas carved in it. These urns show that with greater number of Italic people in Issa in the 1st century B.C., the tradition of burial was replaced by cremation.
The boards show the plan of the preserved part of the south-western necropolis and the photographs of the excavations. In this section, there are also tombstones with carved names of the deceased. These are simple stelai made of local stone with two acroteria and a pediment.
One much damaged inscription is especially valuable. It is exhibited to the right of the entrance to this hall, where Issa is mentioned as Ionius' island. That name also appears in ancient written sources. They say that Ionius was the name of the ruler originating from Issa who ruled in that area.
The 9th showcase holds female jewellery and cosmetic set, as well as a very beautiful oinochoe that was used in ceremonial purposes. At the end of the handle there is a winged siren holding a shell in her right hand. At the bottom of the handle there is one Horae, a personification of spring. The vessel is dated in the 1st century B.C.
Next is a board showing Issean coins. According to the available finds, the mint in Issa was active from the middle of the 4th century B.C. until the end of the 1st century B.C. All of the preserved coins are bronze, and the oldest examples have male head in profile and inscription Iovo. On the reverse there is a dolphin over three waves and the head of a goddess Persephone.
The showcase no.10 holds the artifacts from one mausoleum found in south-western necropolis: stucco heads and remains of a mosaic. They are dated in the 2nd century B.C.
Small stone altars are exhibited in the showcase no.11 One has an inscription in Greek that means: (to the goddess Syria, dedicated by Ktesia). All of the altars are of bad quality, without ornaments, and if there are any, they are very modest.
The collection ends in terracotta figurines. The centers of production of these figurines were in Tanagra in Greece, Myrina in Asia Minor and in Greek towns in south of Italy and on Sicily. They were also manufactured in Greek towns of Issa and Pharos in the Adriatic. Terracottas of this size come from graves, most of them are the so-called Tanagra – figures. In the showcase there are also a figure of the goddess Bendis, a winged Eros pouring liquid into a crater, birds on pomegranates connected to the cult of Aphrodite, the symbol of fertility, a dove with a clover on its chest, a rooster, a boat, a theatre mask, an egg and other objects. They belong to the 4th – 2nd century B.C.

Head of the goddess Arthemis, Issa, end of the 4th c. B.C.

Museum, Parks & Zoos / Museums, parks & zoos

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