Poluotok Oštrica kod Grebaštice – rezultati istraživanja kasnosrednjovjekovnog bedema i terenskih pregleda poluotoka (original) (raw)

2024, Godišnjak zaštite spomenika kulture Hrvatske 48

OŠTRICA PENINSULA NEAR GREBAŠTICA—RESEARCH FINDINGS ON LATE MEDIEVAL WALL AND FIELD SURVEYS OF THE PENINSULA Comprehensive research and field surveys of the Oštrica peninsula, which began in early 2020, have yielded numerous and varied results. First of all, architectural remains and surface finds in the karst field in the western part of the peninsula confirm its use during Late Antiquity, possibly in relation to the nearby Roman settlement in Grebaštica. In the late Middle Ages, most of the peninsula consisted of pastures owned by the Šibenik commune, and afterwards the diocese. Ottoman raids in the second half of the 15th century began to threaten the settlement of Grebac (Grebaštica), which was one of the most important villages in the Šibenik district at the time. It appears that the nearby Oštrica peninsula was at that time already partitioned by a 300-meter-long wall, which is documented in cartographic resources and written testimonies as Murata or Muraje. In order to further protect the village population, the Venetians extended the wall in 1497. Just like many fortification structures of similar character in Dalmatia, the wall had two coastal towers connected by a walkway and crenelation. From the southeast tower, which was discovered in recent archaeological investigations, a subsequently built wall that protected the nearby pier stretched toward the sea. After the extension of the wall and the Ottoman–Venetian war between 1499 and 1503, the village of Grebac was abandoned. A new settlement with houses, courtyards, streets and mills was established on the Oštrica peninsula. Some buildings were located in the karst field, while others were situated adjacent to the extended wall. The peninsula was permanently inhabited only for a few decades. After that, the population moved to an even safer island of Krapanj. At the beginning of the 17th century, the coastal towers were already in a bad state, and the wall was not permanently manned. The construction of the small Church of the Holy Spirit, as well as several surface finds on the peninsula, can be tentatively dated back to the early modern period. The village of Grebaštica was rebuilt after the wars with the Ottomans ended. Since the 19th century, most of the Oštrica peninsula has been used for forestry, as well as for game farming in the past few decades. The last man-made structures include a concrete bunker and trenches dug into the hill about 150 meters south of the wall, and a chapel located at the farthest edge of the peninsula. Only the central section of the wall, approximately 250 meters long, has been preserved to this day, and the foundations of the coastal towers are also visible. Except for the fortresses in Šibenik, it represents the best-preserved fortification of the former Šibenik district.