Land & water works in Ancient Faros

There is evidence of a small Iron Age Illyrian tribal community at Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, dating from this period.

The Ancient Greek colonists Founded Pharos (modern Stari Grad) as an agrarian colony on the island of Hvar due to the existence of a large plain with many springs and streams.

Pharos was conquered by the Romans. During the Roman Era the city was reconstructed with the name “Pharia”. During the roman period, the whole island was criss­crossed with traces of working and leisure facilities, as shown by the excavations of many villas, etc. A lot of cisterns were built in this period in the Stari Grad plain, some of which are still in use.

The first traces of Christianity as shown by of tombs, a baptistery and mosaics.

Hvar was conquered by the Venetians, who maintained almost permanent political control of the island until 1797.

Irrigation works were undertaken on the Stari Grad plain, and a cadastral scheme was drawn up by the Austrian administration of that time. At the end of century, winegrowing was seriously affected by the disease of phylloxera. This led to an abandonment of the agricultural land and an initial wave of rural emigration.

The winegrowing villages of the south were partially abandoned. The cadastral structure of the land and paths was conserved, but it was weakened by lack of maintenance.

The Strari Grad Plain enters the World Heritage List. The agricultural plain of Stari Grad has remained in continuous use, with the same initial crops being produced, for 2400 years. This bears witness to its permanency and sustainability down the centuries.

During research for the HYDRIA project, the problem of locating the ancient rivers appears.