Summer ’25 with the Centre, III

Quite some time has passed, and surely our Friends following the history of the Centre’s summer excavation campaigns have already begun to worry about the silence surrounding the research in Risan. This year, it’s an entire saga that could be titled “The Boiled Archaeologists.”

As the Centre’s philosopher says: you can never predict… And that’s exactly how it was. Every year in Risan, we suffered through heatwaves that lasted around a week to ten days, reaching their peak—close to 40 degrees Celsius. This year, from the moment we arrived in Montenegro, that “peak” lasted a full month. Naturally, this seriously hindered—or even prevented—our work. From the early morning, temperatures exceeded the threshold above which, according to regulations, work is prohibited. As a result, the fieldwork was practically limited to cleaning and documentation, while back at the base we focused on architectural processing and so-called study work.

The prolonged heat forced us to respond flexibly. So we decided to do something different and work in the cold for a change. Thanks to the remarkable efficiency of the University Legal Office and the effectiveness of the Rector of the University of Warsaw, Prof. Dr. Hab. Alojzy Z. Nowak, we quickly signed an agreement to carry out work in the so-called “Great Cave” in Ljuti Krš. It is located quite high in the mountains surrounding the nearby town of Herceg Novi, not far from Risan. Here, in contrast, the temperature was 7.5 degrees Celsius.

Thanks to Dr. Hab. Małgorzata Kot, Professor at the University of Warsaw, this time we focused on the Adriatic Neolithic. In a sense, it is a continuation of research we conducted in two caves many years ago. The discoveries in the “Great Cave,” which appears to be untouched, sparked our interest. Hearths, around which were found bones and fragments of pottery, are a promising sign for the future. For now, three seasons are planned. Of course, the research in Risan will continue independently—as long as the weather doesn’t foil our plans again.

And so, the Hellenistic-Neolithic Montenegrin adventure is coming to an end under extreme conditions of unbearable heat and intense cold!

We should return to Risan in the autumn to carry out non-invasive research and process part of the finds, including architectural elements. Let’s hope the weather will be kind to us then and that we won’t end up drowning in pouring rain… You can never predict 😊

Now we head north—to Novae. It’s almost frightening to think what awaits us there. For now, the heat is also intense there. Fortunately, the campaign will run from the end of July to the third week of September, so there is hope that the weather will stabilize.

Apart from the excavations in Novae, we will face the additional heavy workload related to the implementation of two European Union programs and the processing of finds, in which specialists—among them ceramic and lamp experts—will also take part.