Osor beyond the myth
July 2025: Exhibition Death in Osor in Mali Lošinj
On Friday, 11 July 2025, the exhibition Death in Osor (Smrt u Osoru) was opened in Mali Lošinj, Croatia, as part of the activities of the international bilateral project Osor beyond the Myth.
The exhibition titled Death in Osor, which explores the archaeology of death during the last millennium BCE, is, as its name suggests, dedicated to one of the most important archaeological sites of the northern Adriatic: Osor. It was created through the collaboration of the Lošinj Museum and the University of Primorska, Faculty of Humanities in Koper, within the framework of the bilateral scientific project Osor beyond the Myth. The exhibition was curated by Martina Blečić Kavur, Zrinka Ettinger Starčić, and Boris Kavur.
Death in Osor, or rather the methods, practices, and funerary rituals, are central themes that offer valuable insight into the everyday life and belief systems of the people who once inhabited Osor. Although only partially excavated and in some places damaged, the necropolises and individual graves reveal numerous burial customs and rites accompanied by grave goods, which indirectly reflect the living community that carried out these rites and deposited these objects. Each excavated grave enriches the archive of data previously unknown in the context of Osor; collectively, they significantly contribute to our understanding of the population’s organisation, their traditional customs, and the symbolic meaning of space within and beyond the settlement of the time.
The entire body of archaeological heritage further confirms that the island community of Osor was neither isolated nor excluded. On the contrary, it served as a connecting hub of cultural and economic ties among different communities. It is therefore understood as a developed and affluent society that, three millennia ago, participated as an equal player in the cultural and trade networks of the Adriatic and broader European region.
At the exhibition opening, speeches were given by Zrinka Ettinger Starčić, Director of the Lošinj Museum, Assoc. prof. dr. Martina Blečić Kavur, and Prof. dr. Boris Kavur from the Department/Institute of Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Primorska Faculty of Humanities.
The exhibition, housed in the Lošinj Museum, will be on display until August 31, 2025.
18. July 2025