Workers discover 18th-century vessel while installing pipeline in medieval 'Game of Thrones' city

Fox News

13-07-2025

Workers installing a water pipeline in Croatia made an unexpected discovery, unearthing the remains of an 18th-century wooden boat.
The discovery was made this spring in the southern Croatian city of Dubrovnik, a medieval locale famous for being a filming site for the HBO series "Game of Thrones."
The wreck was found in Dubrovnik's Old Town harbor.
Ivan Bukelic told Bulgarian television network NOVA TV that he uncovered the wooden structure back in April.
The undersea builder was working on a water pipeline at the time.
The boat was embedded in the seabed, approximately 30 inches beneath the ocean floor.
"I can now say I discovered a boat [in] the Old Town Dubrovnik," Bukelic was quoted as saying.
Marine archaeologist Irena Radić Rossi confirmed that the boat was over 225 years old.
"We still cannot speak of the type of vessel or its dimensions, but we can say for certain, based on the results of radiocarbon analysis, that it was from the late 18th century," she said.
Rossi added that the remains are being protected for further examination.
"We must protect it for the future," the expert stressed.
Shipwreck discoveries, while exciting, are not entirely unheard of in Europe — where dozens have been found or identified so far this year.
This spring, excavators uncovered a centuries-old shipwreck in an unlikely place in Spain: a former fish market.
Weeks later, an archaeologist announced that he had discovered the likely remains of the Recovery, an 18th-century treasure ship that was lost off the coast of Wexford, Ireland, around 240 years ago.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.