PLACE OF CROATIAN RULING
Archaeological site of particular national importance

The archaeological site Crkvina is located close to the village Biskupija that lies approximately 7 km southeast of Knin. Today’s Biskupija is a historical village that has borne the name Kosovo (villa Cossovo, Kosoua) from the 11th to 18th century and was part of the King’s property (villa regalis). Croatian archaeology revealed a complex archaeological-historical topography of that site through excavations at several locations in Biskupija. The authenticity of written historical data on mediaeval churches in the village of Kosovo (v Petih crikvih v Kosovi), which have been noted in connection with the assembly and murder of the Croatian King Zvonimir, has been additionally verified by the discovery of the remains of five mediaeval churches. The largest archaeological site in Biskupija is Crkvina itself. The site is situated at a Roman Catholic cemetery and the toponym confirms the tradition of a sacral complex. The oldest mediaeval finds however precede the construction of the church at Crkvina. It is a question of the early mediaeval graveyard, where ca. 10 graves of princes were discovered that contained finds of arms and luxurious equestrian gear of Carolingian provenience, which the European archaeological literature related to the horizon of Biskupija-Crkvina (8th/9th century) for a long time. During the first half of the 9th century, a new basilica was erected at the same location, which excelled in size the churches of that time in the Croatian territory. It was consecrated to the Virgin Mary. The church was a three-nave building with erected extended pillars that divided the church naves. It included a tripartite Westwork as well as a belfry on the western side. The layout of the church indicates to the concepts that appear in early mediaeval architecture of the western cultural circle and refer to spaces of Aquilean and Milanese patriarchy. The church also served as the mausoleum of a Croatian dynasty in the 9th century. In the 11th century, Kosovo (Biskupija) became the domicile of the Croatian court bishop (episcopus Chroatensis) who appeared there around 1040 and was accompanied by the Croatian king. The basilica to the Virgin Mary received an annex of rooms during that period, which are differently interpreted in scientific literature (as a monastery, as a space for the cathedral capitol and as the king’s court). Over a period of three centuries (from the 9th to the 11th century), the liturgical furnishing has been replaced several times, so that exactly those finds have given up to day the most numerous and largest variety of archaeological items regarding Pre-Romanesque sculptures and inscriptions that have been discovered at a single, early mediaeval archaeological site in Croatia. The nave of the basilica was reconstructed during the reign of the Ottoman Empire and included the separation of the central nave in order to turn it into the smaller church of St. Luke. This church was removed by archaeological amateurs in 1886. The new stone church to the Virgin Mary was built east of the archaeological remains of the early mediaeval basilica in 1938, according to the layouts of the sculptor Ivan Meštrović.

The architectural remains at Crkvina, as well as moveable monuments on that site, are currently archived at the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments and nowadays subject to numerous scientific archaeological studies. In this way, they are accessible and recognizable only to a small circle of experts that deal with early mediaeval archaeology. It can be concluded that they serve only for scientific researches.

At the site itself, the foundation of the remains of the three-nave basilica are partly visible, while the existing remains of the reconstructed annex of rooms are filled with earth. They are located underneath the local tarmac road. Next to the remains of the basilica is a small Roman Catholic cemetery, which is no longer in use. Mass is occasionally hold at the church to the Virgin Mary that was designed by Meštrović. The site Crkvina is signposted by a signboard with basic data on the mediaeval church, which not even closely gives sufficient information and reflects the importance of this archaeological site not only in the national, but also in the European perspective.

Plans of the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments

1. Rerouting the local road and uncovering the buried part of the complex at Crkvina in agreement with local authorities and the population that lives in the vicinity of the site (this is possible due to the fact that an asphalt road south of Crkvina already exists and that traffic to the settlement east of Crkvina would not be affected by rerouting the road on the northern side)


2. Organizing and arranging the complex in cooperation with conservation experts:
   • discreet signposting of the site area
   • organizing visitor paths which should also be accessible to the handicapped
   • setting up respective information sign-boards
   • setting up a pavilion at the site, which would not negatively affect the site’s authenticity and cultural value and would serve as an infrastructaral building for on-site presentations and interpretations


3. Presentation and interpretation of the site
   • the presentation and interpretation of the site should be based on visual reconstruction (multimedia-based presentation, digital and printed material) and related explanations that are based on scientific results, but also adjusted to a wide and diverse audience
   • the presentation and interpretation of the site would also take into consideration other aspects; the historical context, natural surrounding and intercultural significance of the site, as well as its value in the wider European context
   • the presentation and interpretation would also include the rich historical archaeological excavations conducted at Crkvina, in which, already at the end of the 19th century and in particular during the 1950s, a large number of local residents has been involved and among which there are still some alive
   • the presentation and interpretation implies occasional meetings, conferences or workshops about the site itself, but also on wider topics such as the protection, presentation and valuation of cultural heritage


4. Aims (includibility, valuation, financial sustainability)
   • inclusion of the site on tourist routes in agreement with local tourist boards and tourist operators (directing tourists from coastal tourist centres and the nearby national parks), which would give a financial basis for further maintenance of the site and provide new jobs for the local community
   • education of the local population, which is insufficiently informed about the significance of this site
   • emphasizing the remarkably importance of this site within the context of Europe’s Early Middle Ages