Museum collection and Issa archeological location
TEMPORARILY CLOSED
Historical overview
Isa (Issa) is an island city and the most important Greek colony in Croatia, the foundation of which is connected with the colonizing activity of Dionysius the Elder, in the first half of the 4th century BC. Kr. It was founded in the very center of the Adriatic, on the island of Vis.
The town was built in the deep bay of Vis, once called the port of St. Jurja, on the hill of Gradina. Inside the walls, the city sloped down towards the sea in a terraced manner, and the space was divided into numerous streets in the north-south direction (stenopoi) and a smaller number of streets in the east-west direction (plateiai), which formed a regular grid of the city divided into residential districts.
The city was surrounded by ramparts made of large stone blocks, which gave it a slightly trapezoidal shape. As an island city, Isa had a good harbor built of large stone blocks that can still be seen under the sea in the southern part of the city and in places around the Prirova peninsula.
The necropolises were located outside the city, in the immediate vicinity of the eastern and western ramparts.
After that, in 47 BC, Isa BC, lost its independence with the advent of Roman rule and still continued its prosperity, which was mainly reflected in the momentum of construction. Thus, in the southern part of the city, near the sea, public thermal baths are being built, which occupy a fairly large area. So far, the following have been defined: caldarium, tepidarium, frigidarium, prefurnium, apodyterium and storage space.
The Isej theater was probably built in the 1st century BC. Kr. on the Prirovo peninsula. It was oriented towards the south. The period of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages in the history of Isa is a great unknown because there are not many written sources, nor material remains, which is a consequence of insufficient research.
Overview of the collection
The Issa reference collection is located in Vis, in the fortress of Gospina Batarija, built at the beginning of the 19th century, for the Austrian authorities. Inside the collection there is a rich archaeological material consisting of items from underwater archaeology, prehistoric and Hellenistic periods.
More than 4211 objects are kept in the collection. It was created on the basis of archaeological research in the area of ancient Isa, the islands of Vis, Biševo, Svetac and Palagruža and in the water area of these islands, then by purchasing materials and individual collections and to a lesser extent by donations. Issa has been listed as a museum site in the Statute of the Archaeological Museum in Split since 1988. In the Statute from 1996, the name collection was added to the name. In 2005, the Issa reference collection was enriched with items from recent and contemporary history.
Working hours and contact
TEMPORARILY CLOSED
Contact
Tel. 021/344-574
E-mail: info@armus.hr
Address with map and location
Gospina batarija, regional building of the Archaeological Museum in Split
Šetalište Viškog boja 12, 21 480 Vis
