Museum on Water

Museum on Water

Address:
Village of Peshtani, Gradishte, 6000 Ohrid.
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The underwater archaeological research at the site "Plocha Michov Grad" in the Bay of Bones, in the waters of Ohrid Lake, along the southern coast of Gradishte peninsula near the fishing and tourist village Pestani, were realized in campaigns every year from 1997 until 2005, and in 2007-2008 reconstruction of the settlement which presents attractive archaeological site in an attractive area of the lake was done. These research activities for the first time in Macedonia officialized the underwater archeology as a branch of archeology that deals with remains, protection and presentation of underwater cultural heritage, which due to various circumstances in the past remained until today under the water surfaces of Macedonian lakes. From previous knowledge, especially Ohrid Lake is rich in remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements, objects of antiquity and the Middle Ages submerged in the water, mainly due to the oscillations of its level, as well as movable artifacts through the past found themselves at the bottom of the lake is mostly due to fishing activities or due to the lake traffic in the past centuries. At the "Plocha Michov Grad" site a prehistoric palafitte (pile-dwelling) settlement, belonging to the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age was discovered, and during the previous research about 6000 remains of wooden piles were registered at the bottom of the lake at a depth of 3 to 5 meters which probably supported a common wooden platform on which about twenty prehistoric residential huts, also built of wood. During the past underwater archaeological activities the overall dimensions of the settlement was located, a square underwater archaeological net was set and excavations of several research fields have been realized. In doing so, numerous Bronze Age and Iron Age artifacts were collected, mainly fragmented and complete ceramic vessels, stone and flint objects, less bronze, with a multitude of fragments of animal bones, which include such that have been used as tools. The site "Plocha Michov Grad" in the Bay of Bones is now an attractive museum complex that has many contents: reconstructed palafitte settlement over the waters of the lake, a Roman castrum, which is conserved, restored and presented at the highest plateau of the hill "Gradishte", museum object with showcases, and facility for underwater tourism.

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