October the 27th, 2025 – Another new and fascinating archaeological discovery on the Dalmatian island of Korčula has shed more light on the island centuries ago.
As Morski writes, located on the southern slope of Stražišće hill, at 224 metres above sea level, lies Kopila – an archaeological site that has revealed a multi-layered story about a community that lived more than two thousand years ago in harmony with nature on Korčula. More fascinating still is that these people were also in frequent contact with some of the most developed cultures of the Mediterranean at that time.
It is one of the most significant sites in this part of Europe, which has already entered the scientific literature as an exemplary example of the combination of local tradition and external influences. As research shows, Kopila was both a settlement and a necropolis, an economic centre and cultural core of the western part of the island.
This week, research has continued at the Kopila site itself, and one of the leading researchers of the site, archaeologist Dr. Igor Borzić, revealed more about this remarkable new archaeological discovery on Korčula
“At the moment, we’re exploring a family tomb that has revealed some new moments and clarified the burial ritual. We found a lot of ceramic vessels and jewellery, which gives us a real insight into the rituals practised during the burial ceremonies of the deceased here back then. It’s absolutely fascinating how much jewellery and objects were buried with the deceased. These tombs were built of circular and semicircular stone structures, which were then constructed on top of each other in a stepped manner. We haven’t yet recorded such a type of construction in the context of funerary architecture anywhere else in the entire Adriatic, which makes the Kopila site truly exceptional,” concluded Borzić.
