Le monastère Saint-Pierre d’Osor (Île de Cres) : huitième campagne d’études archéologiques

Two protohistoric Liburnian graves are the most ancient structures discovered in this year’s campaign which was essentially focused on the sector IV, south of the abbey church of Saint Peter in Osor. This area is particularly rich in medieval built tombs of the monastic cemetery that developed next to the church and a mausoleum. The precise datation of this funeral building, which was being used in the 10^th century, is still to be determined, but it has been confirmed that its construction preceded the foundation of the monastery, for at least few decades. A great many monks have chosen the mausoleum as their burial site.

In the excavations of the first bay of the basilica other tombs were unearthed as well as the rest of the “inner” façade that divided the church from its vestibule. Further excavations of the building B have allowed us to establish its datation (11^th - 12^th century) and to discover some structures dating from Late Antiquity. The most important contribution of this campaign is the confirmation of the existence of the cloister south-east of the church as was suggested by the geophysical survey. Furthermore, the study of the eastern monastic building integrated in the Venetian city wall continued.