Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an Ancient Greek settlement in Stobreč, just outside Split. A team under Dr Marina Ugarković from Croatia’s Institute of Archaeology uncovered well preserved walls some 40 metres long that surrounded a Hellenistic community of Epetion with links to the island of Vis. The time span in question runs for three centuries until the death of Cleopatra in 30BC.
As Ugarković explains in her field research outline: “Historical sources relate that in the Hellenistic period, Epetion was allied with the island town of Issa, founded as a Greek colony on Vis, and that their connection was a consequence of the spread of the Issaean political and economic territory to the Central Dalmatian coast".
"The advantages of Epetion included the proximity of fertile fields, a suitable geographic position with natural communications with the interior, and a deep, protected bay as an indispensable precondition for maritime trade. It is assumed that Epetion played an active role in the transfer of Issaean economic products, but also of the achievements of Greek civilization further inland”.
Until now, the site, some 4.5 hectares in size, has never been systematically investigated, and the major part of the settlement has been destroyed by modern buildings. A new law is currently going through the Croatian Parliament.to protect and preserve such sites.