A fishing boat carved from a single tree trunk, discovered on the banks of the Vrbas River, has been officially confirmed as a find dating back to the second half of the 15th century.
This medieval monoxyl, more than 500 years old, has become the main attraction of the Gradiška Heritage Museum after scientific analysis by the Ruđer Bošković Institute confirmed its remarkable age.
Discovered on the border between Povelič and Bajinci near Srbac, the monoxyl represents one of the most important archaeological finds of this type in the region.
The director of the Gradiška Heritage Museum, Bojan Vujčić, emphasizes that this monoxyl—a boat carved from a single piece of wood—is a true rarity.
- Such vessels were used for centuries, from the Stone Age up to the beginning of the 18th century. They were the primary means of fishing and transport on our rivers, and this example gives us direct insight into the lives of people who inhabited the banks of the Vrbas and Sava more than five centuries ago – said Vujčić, a historian who has been researching the history of Gradiška in detail for decades.
The boat has successfully undergone a conservation process, preventing further deterioration after being extracted from river sediments that had preserved it for hundreds of years.
Although the Vrbas and Sava rivers are rich in historical objects that water often brings to sandy shores, a monoxyl of such dimensions and preservation is an exceptional find. It stands alongside the famous boat from Donja Dolina, which is kept at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.
This discovery once again confirms that the beds of our rivers are, in a way, open-air museums. Fishermen and local residents often find objects washed out of the sand by water, which ultimately end up in private collections or local museums.
Source: Glas Srpske
