Terracotta head in the guise of a Greek theatrical mask, 3rd-4th century BC, found in Black Lake Cave on Croatia's Pelješac peninsula

In Black Lake Cave on the Croatian peninsula of Pelješac, a terracotta head in the guise of a Greek theatrical mask, dating from the 3rd-4th century BC, has been found. The object is hollow, with a small hole for a cord: it hung on a wall. Vessels for wine were found beside it.

By all appearances the cave was a sanctuary. What exactly took place here is not known for certain, but the wine and the theatrical mask look very much like the props of a cult of Dionysus, or of his Illyrian double under another name.

This is one of three known Illyrian sanctuaries in the Dubrovnik area. Last year fragments of a terracotta figure of a Greek deity of the Classical period were found in the same cave. The cave has been in use since the Bronze Age, first as a temporary shelter, then as a necropolis, then as a place for rituals.

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Terracotta head in the guise of a Greek theatrical mask, 3rd-4th century BC, found in Black Lake Cave on Croatia's Pelješac peninsula

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