Original scientific paper
The Church of St. Mary nearby castellum in Madona bay, Brijuni - Late Roman and Byzantine period
Vlasta Begović Dvoržak
; Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivančica Dvoržak Schrunk
orcid.org/0000-0001-7145-9722
; University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Ivana Tutek
; Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Madona Bay lies on the western side of the Veli Brijun island. A spacious, wide and very shallow bay. It is protected on the northern and southern sides by the peninsulas of Rankun and Peneda, on the western side by the small island of Madona (Pusti), and towards the open sea by the broad stretch of the Vanga island. On the eastern side the area is protected by a large natural pond which stretches all the way to Saline Bay and by the slopes of gentle hills climbing towards the highest peak on the island – Straža (54.7 m above sea level). A path from the east led into this naturally protected bay, winding its way between the pond and the slopes of the hill which were relatively easy to defend. On the other side, the shallow waters in front of the bay prevented an easy access to enemy boats. Well positioned guard-houses on the hills around the bay and on the islands in front of it enabled excellent control of land and sea routes, making Madona Bay one of the best protected areas of the Brioni Archipelago. A multi-layered and complex settlement, called Kastrum (castellum), represents the key archaeological site for the documenting of the history of Roman colonization and building activity on the islands. According to all archaeological investigations so far, and the insights obtained through these investigations, we can classify the settlement in Madona Bay under spontaneous formations with topographical, cultural and ethnic continuity since antiquity. A naturally protected site on the Brioni Islands, from both sea and land, the Madona Bay became in Late Antiquity one of the key points on the Adriatic maritime route.
Keywords
early Christian church; castellum; fortifications; late Roman; Byzantine period; Brijuni
Hrčak ID:
25724
URI
Publication date:
9.7.2008.
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