Roman Villa in Soline Bay, Sveti Klement (St. Clement) Island, Croatia

Archaeological and Environmental Research, Geophysical and Geographical Survey

The terrestrial and underwater remains of this Roman villa complex include saltworks (Soline = salt) and evidence of agricultural production as well as evidence of stylishly decorated interiors. The remains attest to the villa’s role in Roman commercial networks and suggests production and trade in salt, garum (fish sauce), wine and olives overseen by an elite rural dominus (owner). Like all archaeological projects, interdisciplinary investigation is needed to reveal and interpret the site and its significance and evolution over time. Artistic and material culture, architectural remains, and evolving landscapes and seascapes are all essential not just for understanding how this site documents Roman life in antiquity, but also for our understanding of human-environmental relationships, historical contacts and change. International teams of professionals, students and volunteers from the disciplines of archaeology, architecture, art history, geography, geology and history have excavated and developed numerous projects contributing to understanding of the site as well as the preservation of Croatian cultural and archaeological heritage and local community development.

This living document shares interdisciplinary research conducted by St. Thomas undergraduate students in collaboration with faculty mentors at the Roman archaeological villa site on St. Clement Island (Sveti Klement), Croatia. This resource highlights continuing fieldwork and collaborative research across disciplines that contributes to students’ academic experiences and professional skills, as well as cultural heritage preservation and environmental sustainability. We intend this digital repository to grow and inspire new interdisciplinary work as students and faculty contribute to the Common Good via a large diachronic project that benefits their university and cultural heritage preservation while highlighting St. Thomas’s commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry, intercultural understanding, and global engagement.

Interdisciplinary Student Research Projects

Since 2008, forty-eight St. Thomas students from the departments of Art History, Biology, Classical Civilization, Education, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Geography, Geology and History have participated in the excavation and conducted research at the site. Several students received Young Scholar or Sustainability Scholar grants for collaborative research with St. Thomas faculty. Their projects included X-Ray fluorescence pigment analysis of Roman wall painting, human-environment relations (one GIS mapping and one with drone data collection and story mapping), drone mapping the excavation process, ancient and modern water management, Roman and modern wine making, and the effect of sea level changes on ancient structures. The students produced posters, papers and digital works like story maps, and some presented their work at local and national conferences.

Goals of the website

This website is intended as a teaching and learning tool in the active pedagogy of liberal arts education that integrates ideas and perspectives across disciplines (Integration in the Humanities). Gathering these varied approaches together in one virtual space allows faculty and students to draw upon the site for general research or more specific applications for research or classroom activities with the potential for augmenting the site, thus adding to a body of historical knowledge while contributing to an ongoing university resource.

Website Project directors

Vanessa Rousseau (Art History, vrousseau@stthomas.edu)

Ivančica Schrunk (History, idschrunk@stthomas.edu )

This website was made possible by a Digital Humanities Faculty Research Project grant from CAS in collaboration with Stelar. Technical expertise provided by Eric Tornoe and Luca Comba.

Excavation Staff and Institutions

Dr. Vlasta Begović, architect/archaeologist, Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb

Dr. Branko Kirigin, archaeologist, project director 2007-2010, Arhaeological Museum, Split

Marinko Petrić, art historian, senior curator, Muzej hvarske baštine (Museum of Hvar Heritage), Hvar

Dr. Ivančica Schrunk, archaeologist, University of St. Thomas, St Paul, MN

Thomas Schrunk, art historian, artist, photographer, Minneapolis, MN

Dr. Marina Ugarković, archaeologist, project director 2011-present, Institute of archaeology, Zagreb

Eduard Visković, archaeologist, Kantharos, Hvar

University of St. Thomas