Addressing a press conference in Government House, Plenković underscored that the digging uncovered an unknown history of the building in St. Mark's Square, dating back three thousand years and that the site was unearthed during archaeological digs in the building's northern section of its courtyard when work started on repairs following the 22 March 2020 earthquake.
A 500-square-metre-large area bears witness to a human settlement lasting for 3,000 years on Gradec (Zagre'b old town), from prehistoric times to date, said Plenković.
"The existence of prehistoric buildings from the Early and Late Iron Age indicates the existence of a large and important prehistoric settlement in this location," added Plenković.
He added that the exploration would continue in the southern section of the courtyard.
Boot-like artefact found dates back to 1,200 B.C.
The director of the Croatian Conservation Institute, Tajana Pleše, presented a preliminary analysis of archaeological diggings. Among the artifacts unearthed so far, the most important is an item resembling a boot but its purpose is yet to be determined and it appears to date back to the early Bronze Age or about 1,200 B.C.
Artefacts dating back to the Early Iron Age, about 700 - 600 years BC have also been found and one dating to the Late Iron Age or from the 2nd or 1st centuries B.C., she said.
Studies conducted by the Zagreb City and Archaeological Museums with certainty indicate that a very large city existed here in prehistoric times, a settlement that lasted for almost ten centuries, said Pleše.
The head of the exploration team, archaeologist Petar Sekulić explained that this site also offered artefacts from the Middle Ages. A coin dating back to 1280 was found as well as a wooden pantry from the 14th century with receptacles filled with seeds which will be able to tell us what Zagrebians ate once the seeds are analysed.