The ADRIBOATS mission, winner of the Grand Prix d'archéologie 2024

The ADRIBOATS mission

Initiated in 2007, this archaeological mission is dedicated to studying the remains of ships that plied the coasts of the eastern Adriatic and the Kupa River in ancient times, an inland waterway that is geographically and historically open to this nearby maritime area. Analysis of the architectural, technical and functional characteristics of the eleven shipwrecks excavated (dating from the late Bronze Age to Late Antiquity) has already highlighted the vitality of local building traditions, some of which date back to pre-Roman times, and tracked their evolution and transformation in the imperial era.

The Zambratija wreck, dating from the late 12th to late 10th centuries B.C., discovered in Istria, is the oldest example to date of a fully sewn boat in the Mediterranean. This exceptional wreck provides archaeological evidence of a highly localized indigenous shipbuilding tradition that lasted for many centuries. 

Given the richness of the underwater heritage and the location of the wrecks studied, the mission collaborated with various Croatian institutional partners: the University of Zadar (Pakoštane and Caska wrecks), the Istrian Archaeological Museum (Zambratija, Pula and Debeljak wrecks) and the Croatian Conservation Institute (Kamensko and Paržin wrecks). 

The ADRIBOATS mission also helped train a new generation of French and Croatian researchers in the theoretical foundations of naval archaeology and the most advanced methods applied to the study of shipwrecks.

The Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation's Grand Prix for Archaeology

Each year, the Simone et Cino Del Duca Foundation awards a Grand Prix d'archéologie worth €150,000, on the recommendation of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, to help promote French archaeology in France and abroad - the world's largest prize in this field.

The Simone and Cino del Duca Foundation Prize will radically change the conditions for carrying out the ADRIBOATS research program, complementing the funding provided by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Centre Camille Jullian, the Istrian Archaeological Museum, the Istrian Region and the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media. The next objective is the study and conservation of the Zambratija wreck (late Bronze Age), which is the oldest example to date of a fully sewn boat in the Mediterranean. The removal of this exceptional wreck was carried out in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum of Istria in July 2023. This operation has already answered a number of scientific questions that were only partially addressed during the 2013 excavation. The collaboration established at the end of 2023 with Edouard Bard, holder of the "Climate and Ocean Evolution" chair at the Collège de France, opens up excellent prospects for resolving the thorny question of the precise dating of this exceptional craft. 

The Prize will also help to promote the scientific work within a museum dedicated to Istria's maritime and naval heritage in the town of Pula. This space will house not only the Zambratija wreck, but also the two sewn wrecks from the Roman era discovered in Pula in 2013. Having undergone lengthy conservation treatment in France, they are now just waiting to be restored and supported in a suitable space.

Giulia Boetto, ADRIBOATS project coordinator

The ADRIBOATS mission "Ships and Navigation in the Eastern Adriatic in Antiquity" (Croatia) is headed by Giulia Boetto, director of research in naval and maritime archaeology at the CNRS since 2007 and director of the Centre Camille Jullian (Aix Marseille Université, CNRS) since September 1, 2020. She has also been President of the Europe-Maghreb sub-committee of the MEAE's advisory commission on archaeological research abroad since 2022. She is also responsible for a teaching unit in the Master's program on maritime and coastal archaeology (MoMArch) at Aix-Marseille Université. 

Giulia Boetto studies the typology and function of ancient ships through archaeological, written, iconographic, ethnological and archaeometric sources. She is also interested in the development of photogrammetric techniques for the study of shipwrecks, ship reconstruction and 3D modeling.