Cavtat & Konavle · Croatia · Wreck
Pythos Site
Eight grain jars of about 2,000 litres each, sunk with their ship
Eight huge Ancient Greek storage jars, called pythos or dolia, lying on the seabed near the Islet of Supetar off Cavtat. Each jar held about 2,000 litres of grain, and archaeologists believe they went down in a shipwreck around the 2nd century AD. Divers come for the sheer size of the jars.
Also known as Pythos, Doli-a, dolia site.
Where it is and how deep
42.5949° N, 18.2023° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site sits close to the Islet of Supetar, and the jars rest at 30 m. The dive is a visit to the eight pythoi, Ancient Greek pitchers built to store grain, each one large enough to hold roughly 2,000 litres, lying where their ship went down.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Ancient ship carrying pythos jars
- Type
- Ancient cargo ship
- Cause
- Shipwreck; the circumstances are unknown
- Lies
- Eight pythos jars on the seabed near the Islet of Supetar at 30 m
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Cavtat & Konavle: Summer is the warm stretch, with the sea at 21 to 26 °C; January brings the coolest water of the year.
Know before you go
- Diving alone at an archaeological site is illegal in Croatia; the jars are seen only with a guide.
Sources
- “The deep blue” treasures of Cavtat — Adriatic Luxury Hotels
- Supetar, Općina Konavle — OpenStreetMap
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