About the project

Lovas is a small village in Eastern Croatia with extensive and valuable archaeological heritage. Back in 1895, the first finds were sent by a local priest to the institution that was about to become the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, and the archaeological finds from and around Lovas have been finding their way to the Museum ever since. Unfortunately, it was not until 1939 and the discovery the famous Middle Bronze Age hoard that the small village of Lovas came into the focus of the archaeological community. The hoard contained a vast number of bronze and golden finds which have been found together with a ceramic vessel. The finds were stored in the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, but the exact location of the hoard was forgotten. For many years, the settlements in the area of Lovas were completely unknown, until the archaeological sites Kalvarija, Orlinac-Staro groblje and Gradac were identified in the 1970s. Despite the discovery, no systematic research was undertaken in the area until 2011, when the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb initiated a project which explores the rich archaeological heritage of Lovas. The project continues to this day, with small disruptions in continuity. As we learned more about Lovas’s archaeological heritage, the focus of the project expanded from mere archaeological research. The main goal of the project became not only to conduct systematic research of the complex archaeological landscape(s) in the vicinity of Lovas, but to preserve, protect and promote its rich cultural heritage. Together with its affiliated partners, the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb is trying to achieve these aims through educational programs, promotion of cultural heritage and archaeological research.