Islet of Gnalić near Biograd

Although officially registered in 1967, the site was discovered in the early 1960s and in the interim much of the material found its way into private collections in Belgium. The first three excavation campaigns were organized in 1967 and 1968, while the next two followed in 1972 and 1973. A short rescue campaign took place in 1996 in order to renew the excavation and initiate protective measures of the wreck site. Due to administrative complications the attempt remained without success.

The ship proved to be a round merchantman approximately 40 m in length, armed with guns and laden with a volume and variety of finished and semi-finished products and raw material of mostly Italian and German origin. Two large iron anchors and eight bronze guns were raised from the seabed. The most significant is a pair of sakers (length 3,5 m; calibre 91 mm) produced in Venice by Giovanni II (Zuan) Alberghetti in 1582. Three of the remaining guns were identified as petriere da braga (swivel-guns), one as moschetto da braga (large breech-loading musket) and two as passavolante . The last mentioned guns are not of Venetian origin, but of probable German or French manufacture.

The wooden remains of the ship's hull, identified in several trenches, remain to be excavated and studied in detail. Large portion of the raised material is on display in the Municipal Museum of Biograd. The latest archaeological survey was undertaken in 2005 and confirmed the presence of a large quantity of small archaeological finds in the surface layer and exposed wooden parts of the hull.

Research in the State Archive of Venice has led to the suggestion that the ship was the Gagiana , which sailed from Venice in 1583 and sank in an area south of Biograd (Zara Vecchia). The identification remains uncertain.

Selected bibliography:

Beltrame, C. 2003. Una testimonianza dei traffici veneziani alla fine del Cinquecento. L'archeologo subacqueo IX, n. 3 (27): 10-14.

———. 2006. Osservazioni preliminari sullo scafo e l'equipaggiamento della nave di Gnalić. In Guštin, Gelichi & Spindler 2006 : 93-95.

Davanzo Poll, D. 2006. I reperti tessili di Gnalić. In Guštin, Gelichi & Spindler 2006 : 98-99.

Gasparetto, A. 1973. The Gnalić wreck: Identification of the ship. Journal of Glass Studies 15: 79-84.

Guštin, M. & S. Gelichi. 2006. The shipwreck at Gnalić. Project The Heritage of Serenissima. In Guštin, Gelichi & Spindler 2006 : 77-80.

Guštin, M., S. Gelichi & K. Spindler (Eds.). 2006. The Heritage of Serenissima Koper: Založba Annales Mediterranea.

Lazar, I. & H. Willmott. 2006. The Glass from the Gnalić Wreck. Koper. Annales Mediterranea . Koper: Založba Annales.

Mileusnić, Z. (Ed.). 2004. The Venetian Shipwreck at Gnalić. Annales Mediterranea . Biograd na moru - Koper: Zavičajni muzej Biograd na moru.

Morin, M. 2006. Le artiglierie del relitto di Gnalić. In Guštin, Gelichi & Spindler 2006 : 95-97.

Petricioli, S. 1981. Deset godina rada na hidroarheološkom nalazu kod Gnalića. Godišnjak zaštite spomenika kulture Hrvatske 6/7: 37-45.

Petricioli, S. & V. Uranija (Eds.). 1970. Brod kod Gnalića - naše najbogatije hidroarheološko nalazište. Vrulje - Glasilo Narodnog muzeja u Zadru 1 .

Petricioli, Sofija. 1973. The Gnalić wreck: The glass. Journal of Glass Studies 15: 85-92.

Radulić, K. 1970. Brod kod Gnalića; naše najbogatije hidroarheološko nalazište. Petricioli, S. & V. Uranija (Eds.), Vrulje - Glasilo Narodnog muzeja u Zadru 1: 4-9.

Schick, M. 2006. The sleigh bell finds from Gnalić wreck. In Guštin, Gelichi & Spindler 2006 : 110-112.

Stadler, M. 2006. The brass candlesticks, sconces and chandeliers from Gnalić wreck. In Guštin, Gelichi & Spindler 2006 : 107-109.

Terzer, C. 2006. The lead seals from Gnalić wreck. In Guštin, Gelichi & Spindler 2006 : 112-114.

Vrsalović, Dasen. 1974. Istraživanje i zaštita podmorskih arheoloških spomenika u SR Hrvatskoj . Zagreb: Republički zavod za zaštitu spomenika kulture.