Original scientific paper
Report on the Results of the first Series of archaeological Excavations at the Catholic Cemetery in Rapovine near Livno
Marija Marić Baković
orcid.org/0000-0002-5761-3583
; Franjevački muzej i Galerija Gorica u Livnu
Abstract
he Franciscan Museum and Gallery Gorica Livno
initiated archaeological excavations at the Catholic
cemetery in Rapovine near Livno. The cemetery lies
on a dominant location above the village, providing
a beautiful view over Livno and the Kruge Plateau, as
well as over the once fortified mediaeval town Livno.
Archaeological excavations, hindered by present-day
burials and burials from the modern era, were conducted
partially during June and July 2012. Two trial
trenches were opened between tombs from the modern
era, which revealed foundations of structures.
Based on cartographic records, historical sources,
preserved tradition and fragments of church furnishing,
discovered by chance in the late 19th century and
the 1980s, it was already earlier assumed that an early
mediaeval church was located within the Catholic
cemetery in Rapovine. New finds of fragments belonging
to church furnishing and decorated with the
three-ribbon interlace provided confirmation of the
existence of the afore-mentioned church. We assume
that the western part of the church or church complex
has partially been discovered until now, respectively
the area where the entrance into the structure was
probably located. Although wall 1, made of monolithic
blocks, indicates to an earlier ancient structure,
there have been no discoveries from the ancient and
early Christian period so far. As recent graves might
collapse during deeper excavations in the vertical
stratigraphy, we have not reached the subsoil yet.
Fragments of pre-Romanesque church furnishing,
decorated with the three-ribbon interlace, have been
the main source for the age determination of the remaining
structure so far. A fragment of the pluteus,
decorated with the three-ribbon interlace and a cross
under an arcade, was discovered incorporated into the
wall of a tomb from the modern era. The height of the
preserved piece is 41 cm. We assume that the original
height of the pluteus amounted to approximately
1 m. The area where the basic remains of the structure
have been examined until now is on the northern side
slightly elevated above the surrounding cemetery. It is
certainly the same church whose fragments of church
furnishing were found already 1885 at the same site.
One of them is a stone architrave beam containing a carved Latin inscription with votive content, referring
to the dedication of the church to Saint Peter. Based
on its decorative style and manner of production as
well as on its epigraphic features, the fragments of the
partition are dated to the late 9th and early 10th century.
They are linked to the workshop that was established
within the scope of the royal court and was active in
the wider area of the early mediaeval Croatian state,
from Benkovac to Glamoč and Drvar, including the
area of the mediaeval county Hlivno (Livno). More
information would be available after research and examination
of the up to now poorly explored pre-Romanesque
and Romanesque architecture in Livanjsko
Polje (Livno Field). It is precisely the period between
the late 9th and early 10th century that could be characterized
by construction and renovations of sacred
buildings in the county of Livno. On the topographic
map of Livno and its surroundings (1686–1689),
made during the time of Proveditor General of Dalmatia
Girolamo Cornaro, the church in Rapovine is
dedicated to Saint Peter (Chiesa di S. Pietri) and has
a longitudinal ground plan with additional spaces. In
the meantime, the church must have undergone some
reconstructions and renovations.
The titular of the same name on the beam of the
church partition and the toponomastic record on the
17th century map indicate to the fact that the church in
Rapovine was continuously used from the Early Middle
Ages to about 1686, when it was destroyed as the
last mediaeval church in the Livno region. According
to historical sources, the church was probably burnt
down and destroyed during border-land invasions
from Damatia under the command of Stojan Janković,
which were often driven by robbery and plunder, or as
tradition states as Turkish retaliation, between 1686
and 1689. The graveyard probably started to develop
around the early mediaeval church on which burials
continued to take place also during the Late Middle
Ages and the Ottoman period. In the 19th century,
prominent Catholic families from Livno were buried
there. Their tombs with typical dominant crosses represent
a special cultural feature of the Livno region.
Burials within this cemetery continued also later on
and are actually still taking place there.
Keywords
Cemetery; Saint Peter’s Church; early mediaeval church; three-ribbon interlace; stonemason’s workshop
Hrčak ID:
92544
URI
Publication date:
17.12.2012.
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