Sunken Roman Ship

The Ljubljanica is a great narrator of stories – the river tells us about its important role in the past.

In September of 2008 the remains of a Roman cargo ship from the 1st century AD were found in Sinja Gorica. According to experts, this is an extremely important discovery of international significance. The construction of the ship showed that it was made with a building technique in which iron clamps were used. This, in fact, represents the missing link in research of the building technology of Mediterranean-type vessels and the development of shipbuilding in general.

The Ljubljanica had always played an important role as a navigable waterway by which they used to transport cargo to and from Ljubljana. The discovery of a cargo ship from the time when Ljubljana was called Emona and Vrhnika Nauportus only further confirms that. In 1840 and 1898, for short periods of time, even steamboats sailed up the river. In the past, the Ljubljanica was one of the main transport routes in this part of Europe. Today, it is – archaeologically speaking – one of the most interesting European rivers; in its riverbed it hides well-preserved witnesses of times past. So far, the Ljubljanica has shared with us over 6,000 artefacts.