Uncovered in a previously blocked-off area of Crno Jezero cave, this 2,300-year-old sanctuary may have been used to worship Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, theater, and “ritual madness.”
Archaeological Museum of the Dubrovnik MuseumsThe Greek theater mask found in Croatia’s Crno Jezero cave in Pelješac.
While excavating the Crno Jezero cave in Pelješac, Croatia, archaeologists came across a 2,000-year-old figurine wearing a Greek theater mask. Small, scowling, and made of terracotta, it likely once hung on a wall — and may have been involved in ancient rituals.
Archaeologists also found a number of wine vessels in the cave, and it’s possible that these and the figurine were related. After all, the Greek patron of theater was the god Dionysus, who was also the god of wine. Ceremonies in his honor may have been held inside this cave more than two millennia ago.
The 2,000-Year-Old Greek Theater Mask Figurine Found In Croatia
Archaeological Museum of the Dubrovnik MuseumsThe excavations took place at Crno Jezero cave, which has been used by humans since the Bronze Age.
According to a statement from the Archaeological Museum of the Dubrovnik Museums, the Greek theater mask figurine was found during excavations at Crno Jezero cave in Pelješac, which took place between April and May.
Dating to the 3rd or 4th century B.C.E., the theater mask figurine is hollow inside and has a hanging hole at the top. Archaeologists believe that it was likely hung on a wall, and that it was “undoubtedly associated with theater.”
The figurine also likely has a connection to the Greek god Dionysus, the god of wine, theater, and festivity. This seems all the more likely since archaeologists have also found a number of high-quality Greek vessels, both for storing wine and drinking wine, within the cave.
“Thanks to their location in a hidden, intact part of the cave, the finds have remained intact and almost completely preserved, almost like a frozen image more than two thousand years old,” said archaeologist Domagoj Perkić, head of the Archaeological Museum.
Archaeological Museum of DubrovnikArchaeologists found vessels for storing and drinking wine in the cave, possibly a nod to ancient rituals worshipping the Greek god Dionysus.
According to the museum, the wine vessels were not used in day-to-day life, but were “a symbol of the wealth and power of the local prehistoric community…who obviously had a need to use them in rituals unknown to us (possibly related to drinking wine).”
However, the exact significance of the wine vessels is unclear.
“We can only speculate whether we can connect Dionysus or his Illyrian counterpart with the wine vessels,” Perkić stated, “and at the same time with the aforementioned mask, and whether we can find in them the deity to whom the cave served as a sanctuary and what rituals were performed there.”
Archaeological Museum of DubrovnikA small wine vessel found in Crno Jezero cave.
But what is clear is that ancient humans used the Crno Jezero cave for a long, long time.
The Ancient History Of The Crno Jezero Cave
The Crno Jezero cave, located on the Pelješac peninsula in southern Croatia, was used by humans starting in the Bronze Age. Then, during the 2nd millennium B.C.E., it was used as a refuge. But starting in the Late Bronze Age and then into the Iron Age, it was used instead as necropolis.
Archaeological Museum of DubrovnikExcavations in Crno Jezero cave have shown evidence of human occupation for thousands of years, starting in the Bronze Age.
“According to the results of radiocarbon analyses of human bones, this is from the period between 1012 and 481 BC, so it served as a necropolis for a little over five hundred years,” Perkić explained.
Starting around the 4th century B.C.E., it was used as sanctuary, with items like amphorae, bowls, an kantharos (a Greek drinking cup) left as votive offerings, likely for religious or ritualistic purposes.
It was during this period that the Greek theater mask figurine was also left in the cave. Possibly — given the discovery of both the figurine and the wine vessels — rituals related to the Greek god Dionysus took place at Crno Jezero cave some 2,000 years ago. But many questions still remain.
Regardless, the Greek theater mask figurine is an astounding discovery — a small but vital piece of Crno Jezero cave’s long, long history.
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