An international team led by archaeologists from the University of Bern conducted research at the northern end of Lake Ohrid in June 2021. For one month, an area of 130 m2 of a lakeside settlement was investigated. In the process, an extensive amount of find material was recovered. Outstanding are large quantities of pottery. Simultaneously with this fieldwork, about 200 piles were mapped and sampled for dendrochronological analysis. Based on the pottery and on first radiocarbon dates, the site dates to the first half of the 1st millennium BC, probably between 800 and 600 BCE. Struga, Vrbnik is so far the only site from this period and the youngest lakeside settlement on Lake Ohrid. One aim of the investigations is to better understand the chronology of the site and the typology of the ceramics. With the dendrochronological data it should be possible in the future to reconstruct building layouts. The work was carried out in cooperation with the National Archaeological Museum of Republic of North Macedonia (Skopje) and the Dr. Nikola Nezlobinski Museum of Struga. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), the Society for Swiss Underwater Archaeology (GSU), the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern (ADB), and air-compact GmbH High Pressure Solutions Wohlen supported the project with equipment and material.
Autor: Johannes Reich