Archaeologists in Croatia have made an unusual discovery at an ancient ritual site along the country’s southern coast.
Within Crno Jezero cave, an 80-foot-long cavern that extends 300 feet beneath the Pelješac peninsula in southern Dalmatia, just north of Dubrovnik, archaeologists have located an unusual relic dated to the 4th century.
The discovery, according to Croatia Week, is a terracotta head featuring a Greek theater mask, which it is believed would have likely been featured as an ornament once mounted on a wall.
In ancient Greece, theater masks were items that actors wore while performing a range of stage productions that included tragedies, comedies, and other kinds of plays.
These masks were normally crafted from very lightweight materials like wood, cork, or leather. Some of the masks were designed as full-face helmets worn by actors, which helped to amplify their voices and project their exaggerated emotions in ancient open-air amphitheaters.
The discovery of the artifact follows a similar discovery associated with ancient Greece previously made at the cave, involving a possible Greek deity that was unearthed last year.
The discoveries may point to the cave’s use as a ritual site over the centuries, during periods where the cave likely served as a sanctuary from the Bronze Age up through the Middle Ages, according to Domagoj Perkić of the Dubrovnik Museums.
“Whether Dionysus, or his Illyrian counterpart, can be connected with the wine vessels and the mask found in the cave remains open to interpretation,” Perkić said in a statement.
Perkić says that there have been other discoveries that may link the site to the periods during which it served as a sanctuary, which include high-quality Greek pottery.
Items that include Greek amphoras and bowls, as well as drinking vessels such as kantharoi, have been uncovered close to the opening of the cave.
“Most of the sanctuary-related finds were discovered in the entrance and side sections of the cave, which had remained hidden and buried until excavations,” Perkić says.
Additional archaeological evidence uncovered at the cave suggests some pottery was crafted on-site using local materials, possibly as votive offerings.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.