Sunken 18th-century ship discovered by chance off famed Game of Thrones filming spot
The remarkable discovery was made in April by Ivan Bukelic, who was working on a water pipeline in Dubrovnik's old port when he stumbled upon a wooden structure buried in the seabed.
'I can now say I discovered a boat at the Old Town Dubrovnik,' Bukelic, who is a diver and undersea builder from Dubrovnik, said.
He said the vessel was some 60 to 80 centimetres (23-31 inches) under the sea bottom.
A key trade port in the Adriatic Sea in medieval times, Dubrovnik has been declared a UNESCO- protected heritage site. It attracts huge crowds of tourists, especially during the summer, and is also known as a filming site for HBO 's Game of Thrones series.
The remains of the boat in Dubrovnik's old port have been protected for further examination.
'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,' marine archaeologist Irena Radić Rossi said.
Radić Rossi said the aim is to continue with the research in cooperation with Croatia's Ministry of Culture.
'We must protect it for the future,' she said.
Dubrovnik is a prime example of the effects of mass tourism, a global phenomenon in which the increase in people travelling means standout sites, particularly small ones, get overwhelmed by crowds.
In 2017, local authorities announced a 'Respect the City' plan that limits the number of tourists from cruise ships to a maximum of 4,000 at any one time during the day. On a typical day in 2018, about eight cruise ships anchored at the town of 2,500 people, each dumping some 2,000 tourists into the streets.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
16 hours ago
- Metro
I stumbled across the best bar ever in Europe's newly-crowned 'safest city'
Medieval walls, shimmering ocean and extravagant palaces — there are many reasons Dubrovnik is Croatia's most iconic holiday destination. It's just been named the safest city in Europe, according to new research by tour operator Riviera Travel, thanks to its low crime levels and well-lit streets. But to me, the 'pearl of the Adriatic' will forever be known as the home of the best bar I've ever been to. A 15-minute drive from the Unesco-protected Old Town, which served as the main film set for HBO's Game Of Thrones, you'll find Love Bar hidden in the hillside. It is so well concealed that most only find it by accident, up a steep flight of stairs. A sign on a nearby roof and an arrow on the roadside are the only indicators that something special awaits. The climb is tough, but your reward is a sweeping panorama that provides the perfect backdrop for an Instagrammable sunset. Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration. Sign up here. Located in the Port Gruž area of Dubrovnik, Love Bar has a large terrace that enjoys a seaside spot right on the port. The bar has a four-page menu of mouth-watering drinks, which are so affordable you'll likely do a double-take when you see the price. Starting at just €7 (£5.77) for classics like Sex On The Beach and Aperol Spritz, just a couple of euros more unlocks the full menu complete with mules, margaritas and sours. The best part is that if you plan your day right, you can score yourself two-for-one cocktails. When I visited in September, Happy Hour ran between 12pm and 6pm. Staff were friendly, offering a last round before the clock struck six. And, if you like to be serenaded as you sip, Sofar Sounds, the global gigging community that hosts intimate gigs, has hosted artists at the venue too. The bar also has its own DJ. Love Bar doesn't serve food, so make sure to grab a snack before you start enjoying that happy hour a little too much. With a 4.5 rating on Trip Advisor and rave reviews, don't just take my word for it. One review from Lucy read: 'Really friendly staff. Great selection. Unbelievably good value must be the cheapest beers and cocktails anywhere in Dubrovnik.' More Trending 'Amazing place, staff was friendly the atmosphere were amazing. Drinks were cheap and well made. If you want away from noises from old town I higly recomend this place,' Juho K wrote. Meanwhile, calling it the 'best bar in Dubrovnik', Sam L added: 'Nice little rooftop bar perfect for couples on a date night. The music was spot on. Nice drinks selection, my girlfriend really loved the cocktails. Affordable pricing. Bar staff were really friendly.' Save With plenty of accommodation options, it's not hard to find affordable accommodation in Dubrovnik. One steal we found is Old Harbour City Center Apartment. Located right in the heart of the old town, this spot is a quaint and cosy apartment with a three-star rating on An overnight stay will cost you as little as £45 per night, depending on when you travel. Spend If you're looking to treat yourself, you have plenty of options. One being the King's Landing five-star penthouse. The two-bedroom apartment is just 600m from Banje Beach, a stone's throw from Old Town and comes with a hot tub and complimentary airport transfers. With an overnight stay in March starting from an eye-watering £1,648 per night, it really is a treat yourself moment. This article was originally published on 14 December 2024, and has been updated. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: I've been going to the Algarve for years – try day trips for dodging tourists MORE: Coastal trail crowned Britain's favourite path is a 'crown jewel' with breathtaking views MORE: Where to sip on mini cocktails in London
Evening Standard
20 hours ago
- Evening Standard
Luther Ford: The Crown's breakthrough star on acting opposite James Norton
In King and Conqueror he's acting alongside James Norton, who plays Harold, and former Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays William the Conqueror. The cast spent four months filming in Iceland — which, Ford says, meant he got to know the others quickly. Especially Norton. 'We would go on hikes and have saunas,' he says. 'I think it's nice when you actually get to know someone because then it demystifies everything. And then you're just with someone who's really experienced and good at what they do. He's very open and generous and very enthusiastic.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Southern Europe bakes and burns, turning holiday hotspots into infernos
Somehow, the heat hits harder when you're on holiday. Tourists who hoped to idle on Croatian beaches this week will have instead singed their feet on scorching sand. Families on a break in Madrid will have choked on smoke from a deadly wildfire that ripped through a suburb of the Spanish capital. Visitors to Mount Vesuvius in Italy will have been turned away from the trails as firefighters battled blazes on the volcano's slopes. And then there are campers in south-west France, where 40% of selected weather stations recorded heat above 40C on Monday, who may have wished they had stayed home. Fierce heat is scorching southern Europe for the second time this summer, breaking temperature records and fuelling wildfires that have forced thousands of people across several countries to flee their homes. The heatwave, which has been made longer and stronger by the blanket of fossil fuel pollution that smothers the Earth, has struck during the holiday season when tourist-dependent economies in the Mediterranean and the Balkans are most exposed to variations in weather. For locals and visitors alike, the formerly Instagram-friendly views now seem apocalyptic. Firefighters are tackling fierce blazes in countries from Portugal to Turkey, and the infernos are known to have killed people in France, Spain, Albania, Montenegro and Greece. Across the continent, black smoke is darkening blood-red skies. 'We are being cooked alive,' said Alexandre Favaios, the mayor of Vila Real, in northern Portugal. 'This cannot continue.' Wildfires in Europe burned more than 400,000 hectares in the first seven months of 2025, according to data published by EU fire scientists on Tuesday. Although it is not the worst the continent has seen for this time of year, the burned area is 87% greater than the average over the last two decades. In the coming week, the scientists warned, 'extreme to very extreme conditions' for fire weather will persist. They project 'particularly severe' risks in much of southern Europe, as well as high anomalies in parts of the Nordics. 'We are at extreme risk of forest fires,' the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez warned on Tuesday. 'Please be very cautious.' Feeling the heat I have felt the fear that wildfires can instil in an absent-minded tourist. At a Portuguese friend's wedding in 2022, by a lake in the rural centre of the country, a nearby forest fire forced us to head indoors early so helicopters could fill buckets with fresh water to battle the blaze. The next day, as we lounged in the outdoor pool of a holiday home, white soot rained down on us like snow. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The hot ashes had been lifted up by plumes of smoke that grew redder and redder as the fire came closer. After some fretting among the group, one friend with a newborn baby decided it was time to leave, so we fled to the coast. We drove past locals, mostly retired, who stood outside their homes and watched in horror as flames drew near. Wildfires kill hundreds of people around the world each year – a death toll far lower than that from floods, which kill thousands, and from heatwaves, which kill hundreds of thousands. But factor in the smoke and the human cost rises rapidly. The latest research estimates that the air pollution spewed by wildfires kills a staggering 1.5 million people globally each year. There are economic costs, too. As southern Europe bakes and burns each summer, tourists who cannot travel out of season are starting to abandon traditional holiday destinations in favour of 'coolcations' farther north that beat the heat. Even that strategy will have led to some disappointment this summer. At the start of the month, a heatwave hit cool Nordic countries and sent temperatures north of the Arctic Circle to a staggering 32-33C. 'Truly unprecedented' was how one meteorologist described the heatwave. The upshot is that flight shame might not be what keeps people from holidaying far from home as the planet heats up. Instead, it could be the rising cost of travel as Europe's once-stable climate violently breaks down. This is an edited version of the This is Europe newsletter. If you want to read the complete version every Wednesday, please sign up here.
