Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkably preserved terracotta head depicting a Greek theatrical mask inside the Crno Jezero (Black Lake) cave on the Pelješac Peninsula in Croatia.
Dating from the 4th to 3rd centuries BC, the hollow mask features a suspension hole at the top, suggesting it was once hung on a wall, likely as part of ritual activity associated with Dionysus, the Greek god of theatre and wine.
According to archaeologist Domagoj Perkić, head of the Archaeological Museum, the discovery raises intriguing questions about the cave’s religious significance and the possible worship of Dionysus or an Illyrian equivalent deity.
“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.”
Research conducted in 2025 revealed that the cave served multiple purposes across different prehistoric periods. During the Bronze Age, particularly throughout the 2nd millennium BC, it appears to have functioned as a refuge or seasonal shelter. Later, from the Late Bronze Age into the Early Iron Age, it became a burial site used between approximately 1012 and 481 BC, according to radiocarbon dating of human remains.
Following the end of its funerary use, the cave was transformed into an Illyrian sanctuary between the late 4th and mid-1st centuries BC. This is evidenced by numerous miniature vessels, mostly Greek (amphorae, bowls, kantharos), but also of local provenance, which were usually left in sanctuaries as votive offerings, or gifts used within the framework of a certain religious ritual and cult,” Perkić pointed out.
Many of these luxury imports were associated with the storage and consumption of wine and symbolised the wealth and status of the local Illyrian community.
Archaeologists also recovered fragments of an earlier find: part of the head and bust of a Greek deity dating to the 4th century BC. Together with the newly discovered theatrical mask, the artefacts point to strong cultural and religious interaction between the Illyrians and the Greek world.
Perkić noted that Crno Jezero is one of only three known Illyrian sanctuaries in the wider Dubrovnik region, alongside the sites at Spila in Nakovana and Vilina špilja above the Ombla spring. These sanctuaries provide valuable insight into Illyrian religious practices and their gradual blending with Greek beliefs and rituals.
The excavation team included archaeologists Domagoj Perkić and Krešimir Grbavac, restorer Sanja Pujo, speleologists Hrvoje and Nataša Cvitanović of the Ursus Speleus club in Karlovac, and archaeologist and speleologist Mirna Šandrić of the Željezničar HPD Speleological Department in Zagreb.
Sources : Dubrovnik Museums
