Prethodno priopćenje
https://doi.org/10.17018/portal.2023.1
Mosaics Of Diocletian's Palace in Arhiđakonova Ulica
Vanja Kovačić
Ivana Jerković
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod
Sažetak
Two atriums, open courtyards paved with geometric mosaics, were found inside the perimeter of Diocletian's palace. One atrium is located in present-day Arhiđakonova ulica, south of the temenos wall of the mausoleum, and next to the Vestibule. The other one is located in Bulićeva ulica, east of the temenos wall, and north of the choir of the cathedral of Saint Domnius. Today, parts of the mosaic are found sub divo, inside houses and under the street paving, since medieval buildings and streets divided both courtyards into several segments. In the mid-19th century, there was a proposal to demolish houses on the south side of the cathedral and on the east side of the Vestibule because of the extensive damage to the Vestibule, and to isolate Diocletian's mausoleum. In his "Temple of Jupiter in Diocletian's Palace in Split - 1852", architect and conservator Vicko Andrić provided a floor plan of the remains of the Palace within the new city of Split, which was created on the Roman substrate. On that occasion, he listed around 20 houses for the purification of the mausoleum's environment, but the demolition was not carried out completely. The mosaic, with a grid of octagons and rhombi, which is now located outdoors in Arhiđakonova ulica, was discovered in the former Ulica Grota during Georg Niemann’s research from 1905 to 1907. Although the mosaic was found by architect Niemann in 1905, Jacques Zeiller stated in 1912 that he and Jacques Hébrard studied the mosaic, provided a new drawing of the significantly damaged pavement and described the colours of the cubes. After the renovation of the Vestibule (1955–1957), and reconstruction of the early-medieval houses at the west end of Arhiđakonova ulica, research was carried out from 1955 to 1958, and from 1960 to 1963. New mosaics were discovered in a demolished house, diagonally across the street in front of the entrance to the Cellars of Diocletian's Palace, and inside a pre-Romanesque house on the south side of the street. Jerko Marasović's research defined the edge wall of the atrium and a mosaic that continues from the previously-discovered Niemann mosaic. The second mosaic runs parallel to the eastern wall of the Vestibule and is decorated with a diagonally woven ribbon of a loose structure with a visible white background, which is continued on the mosaic on the ground floor of the early-medieval building on the south side of Arhiđakonova ulica. A third decorative scheme, with a motif of a double axe or Boeotian shield, was found on a mosaic in the interior of the house, as well as the beginning of another mosaic with a well-known decorative motif of hexagons and rhombi. During recent archaeological research, a diagonal mosaic was found inside the parish house at Arhiđakonova ulica 1, thus defining the floor-plan dimensions of this late-antique courtyard. The geometric grid of hexagons and rhombi discovered by Niemann in the open space next to the temenos was repeated in this location, but with much stronger colours. In the wall of the temenos facing Arhiđakonova ulica, there are two vertical openings for water drainage. One opening is in the middle of the wall of the temenos above the outdoor mosaic, and the other was discovered in the foundation of a recently-excavated house. These openings were used to evacuate water into a wide ditch that separated the temenos of the temples from the emperor's apartment. It was a safety belt, between the fenced area of the temples and the imperial residence, that could serve as an obstacle in case of danger and as fire protection. The porch with mosaics in the wide ditch in Arhiđakonova ulica is not compatible with the water that drains onto the walking surface, as it directly damages it, thus negating its functionality. The mosaics could have been made after Diocletian, when the courtyard near the eastern thermae was designed. During the later construction of the urban part of the Palace, these spacious inner courtyards were cropped, filled in and divided by a network of streets. In Arhiđakonova ulica 1, the east wall of the early-medieval house is based on the mosaic, so the former walking surface is broken into several pieces. The drainage channel follows the same route and runs from the barbican in the wall of the temenos to a similar opening in the foundation wall towards Arhiđakonova ulica, which proves that medieval urbanism used drainage solutions built during Diocletian’s rule. The courtyards in Diocletian's palace decorated with mosaics were approximately the same size (18.5 x 14 m and 18 x 13 m). Both porches were covered with mosaics with geometric motifs and various borders and are usually attributed to Diocletian’s period, although fragments of pottery from the northern courtyard are dated to the end of the 4th century and to the 5th. Comparisons of the mosaic ornaments with those found in Salona and the wider Aquileian circle indicate a similarity with the layer of church pavements at the turn of the 5th century. Stylistic analysis and analogies with the mosaic motifs of the cathedral in Salona from the period of bishops Simferius and Hesychius indicate that the mosaics of the porches of Diocletian's palace belong to the post-tetrarchy period. Archaeological research, as well as conservation and restoration of the mosaics, has been ongoing since 1998, with major and minor interruptions. During this period, the expert team of the Section for Wall Paintings, Mosaics and Stucco of the Split Department for Immovable Heritage has recorded all the stages: deterioration, interventions and development. Over the years, we can distinguish three phases – emergency interventions, protective interventions and maintenance on the basis of analysis of the causes of degradation or deterioration of the building materials. The goal of the long-term conservation and restoration is the preservation, maintenance and presentation of ancient mosaics inside Diocletian's Palace.
Ključne riječi
classical antiquity; floor mosaics; porch; medieval urbanism; Diocletian's Palace; Split; conservation; restoration; urban archaeology
Hrčak ID:
312326
URI
Datum izdavanja:
29.12.2023.
Posjeta: 249 *