European Archaeology Days 2026
06/12/2026 — 06/14/2026
The Institute of Archeology is a scientific research institution that performs its activities in the field of archaeology. The Institute carries out basic scientific research, processing, interpretation and evaluation of archaeological sources, with the aim of their valorization in the national, regional and European context. Through its entire scientific activity, research and dissemination of results to stakeholders in scientific, professional, cultural and educational activities, as well as the general public, the Institute raises awareness of the need to preserve and valorize Croatian archaeological heritage as one of the fundamental determinants of national identity. As a part of the European Archaeology Days, join us in live workshops, and in entertainment contents for children and adults.
Official event organiser's website:
https://openagenda.com/en/jea-2026-croatia?cl=null
https://openagenda.com/en/institut-za-arheologiju-institute-of-archaeology?cl=null
https://journeesarcheologie.culture.gouv.fr/en/program#/search@46.7163124,1.5362513,4.91
LIVE WORKSHOPS
Date: Friday, June 12th 2026 (between 10 AM and 2 PM)
Location: Institute of Archaeology, Ulica kralja Zvonimira 6, Zagreb
Age: Recommended for children from 6 to 11 and 11+ years
Participation: Free, with prior registration to [javascript protected email address]
Workshop program:
- Workshop: Building the Neolithic village
With guidance, children will make house models using prepared printed materials and learn how people lived in the Neolithic (Late Stone Age).
For children from 6 to 11 years.
Duration: 45 min
- Workshop: Stories and pictures about children in Protohistory
Young participants will hear archaeological stories about children in Protohistory (from the Bronze Age and Iron Age to Greek colonization/Roman conquests) in Croatia, and then create a story about a child from the past or draw an incident from their character's life.
For children 11+ years.
Duration: 45 min
Note
Children can take home everything they make.
Activities are accessible to people with mobility difficulties (wheelchair access possible).
FRIDAY – SUNDAY, 12. – 14. JUNE
Digital offers
Digital content is available free of charge on the official website of the Institute of Archaeology.
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
Digital offer
Project holders: Institute of Archeology, Zagreb in cooperation with the Women's General Gymnasium of the Society of the Sisters of Charity (ŽOG), Zagreb
Felix's journey along the Danube
Interactive workshop on Roman river boats. The workshop was designed and created by pupils under the mentorship of prof. Irena Marija Vojvodić and Ivana Ožanić Roguljić. The workshop was supported by the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Living Danube Limes project.
For all age groups.
RAB ARCHEOLOGICAL (T)RACES
Digital offer
Project holders: Centar za kulturu Lopar, Turistička zajednice Općine Lopar, Turistička zajednice Rab, Pučko otvoreno učilište Rab, Rijeka Maritime and History Museum and Institute of Archaeology
The project Rab Archaeological (T)races was developed on the idea of an open-air museum, presenting about 30 archaeological sites belonging to all periods on the island of Rab. Included sites spread along the western part of the island and can be visited through three educational trails which lead to the sites or to panoramic locations overlooking archaeological zones. The trails Capo Fronte, Frux and Epario are located on the Kalifront peninsula, the Fruga plateau and Lopar peninsula, stretching through unattached nature which hides not only archaeological sites but also numerous ethnological and natural treasures.
In order to facilitate navigation, but also as an added content, a mobile app was developed which follows the trails and allow access to various augmented reality contents.
Download the app Rab Archaeological (T)races, find out more about the archaeological sites, solve riddles and answer quizzes and discover many details of life on the island in the past.
The app can be downloaded here:
https://rabarchaeologicaltraces.com/download-the-app/?lang=en
For all age groups.
GAME
The interactive game of connecting objects with a house from the Neolithic (Late Stone Age) is designed as an educational material and at the same time an exercise of fine motor skills.
In the Neolithic (Late Stone Age) only stone and bone tools were used as well as bone ornaments. Houses were made of wood, wattle and daub and were most likely covered with reed or branches. Pottery vessels of various shapes, sizes and decoration were used in the houses, and fabric was made on looms (spindle whorls or loom weights were found). If the settlements were near rivers or lakes, fishing equipment was used.
Connect the objects with the house in the drawing.
Intended for children and other age groups.
NEOLITHIC BILINGUAL WORDS GAME
The bilingual Croatian-English words game is an educational game intended for school-age children in which basic concepts about the Neolithic (Late Stone Age) are learned.
Find ten archaeological Neolithic words …
In the Neolithic (Late Stone Age) only stone and bone tools were used as well as bone ornaments. Wood houses were constructed (houses with wooden construction) which in some settlements were renewed in layers one above the other, thus creating settlements that we see today as artificial hills (tells). In archaeological excavations, all these settlement layers over a long period of time are called stratigraphy. In the houses ceramic pottery was used, among which coarse and large pots in the early Neolithic were decorated on the outside with barbotine, i.e. applied clay paste from which ornaments were formed and which also allowed the surface of the pots to remain rough for easier handling.
…and learn them in Croatian!
Intended for children of all age groups.
COLOUR THE PAST
Interactive educational colouring book / cartoon intended for preschool and school children.
Archaeology is a science that aims to reconstruct life in the past. Much like today, people in the past made and used a variety of objects in their daily lives. The remains of these objects are called archaeological finds, and they are often the main means by which archaeologists reconstruct life in the past. These objects are sometimes of a mysterious nature, and the role of archaeologists is to discover what the objects were used for, how people used them in the past, and what they can tell us about their lives.
Become an archaeologist too, colour the past and discover what some mysterious objects were used for!
The colouring book contains drawings of archaeological objects intended for colouring and / or supplementing the drawings.
The objects are accompanied by a short educational text. The purpose of this colouring book is of an educational nature and the desire is to stimulate creativity and imagination!
Intended for children of all age groups.
GAME: STORIES AND PICTURES ABOUT CHILDREN IN PROTOHISTORY
TARGET GROUP: CHILDREN, 11+
Protohistory is the period of the human past from the Bronze Age to the Greek colonization or Roman conquests of what is today Croatia, when written sources first appeared.
What was life like for children back then?
We know little about the life of children in that period; the archaeological sources for their traces are graves. In protohistorical northern Croatia, the dead were cremated. Archaeological excavations discovered human remains and objects which were laid in the grave with the child. Anthropologists study cremated human remains and can determine the age of the child. There is usually no data on the cause of death. The sex of the child cannot be determined from the cremated remains. Archaeologists examine the objects in the graves to determine the time when a grave was made and interpret why particular objects were placed in the grave. Archaeologists tell stories about the past. Tell your own story about a child who really existed in the distant past.
Write a story or draw a scene from your character’s life. You can choose the gender and give a name to this child from the Late Bronze Age or the Late Iron Age.
Documents:
