Palagruža (; ) is a small Croatian archipelago in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. It is uninhabited, except by lighthouse staff and occasional summer tourists. Geography It consists of one larger island, called Vela or Velika ('Great') Palagruža, and a smaller one, Mala ('Little') Palagruža, as well as a dozen nearby rocks and reefs composed of dolomite. All the main islets are in the form of steep ridges. The place is some south of Split on the Croatian mainland, southwest of Lastovo, Croatia, and north-northeast of the Gargano peninsula, Italy. It is visible from land only from other remote islands of Italy and Croatia. Palagruža is further south than the mainland peninsula of Prevlaka, making it the southernmost point of Croatia. Palagruža can be reached only by a chartered motorboat, requiring a journey of several hours from the nearby islands like Lastovo, Korčula or Vis. It is administratively part of the municipality of Komiža. Name The place is known in Italian as Pelagosa, derived from Ancient Greek Pelagousae (, 'sea'). This is the source of the current Croatian name, as well as of the name of pelagosite. Gruž also means 'ballast' in Croatian, and the term is therefore well known in two ways to seafarers. The islands are also associated with the Greek mythology Diomedia or Islands of Diomedes. History Authentic archaeological finds of the Neolithic period have been found on Palagruža - a small number of early Neolithic Impressed Ware pottery dated to 6th to 4th millennium BCE as well as a larger amount of Ljubljana-Adriatic culture (first half of the 3rd millennium BC) and Cetina culture finds (latter half of the 3rd millennium BC). Human presence artifacts on Palagruža from the 2nd millennium BC are more rare, but then there are large finds from ancient Greek seafarers, including Late Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. There are also recorded archaeological finds from Late Roman and early medieval periods. Palagruža is associated with the Island of Diomedes, a location named after the Homeric hero Diomedes, who is reputed to be buried here, though it is hard to imagine where. Speculation is fueled by the discovery of a painted 6th-century BC Greek potsherd with the name Diomed[es] on it, making a shrine by the Cult of Diomedes on Palagruža seem plausible. It is recorded that the galley-fleet of Pope Alexander III landed on Palagruža on 9 March 1177.