Archaeological Treasure

A national monument and one of the most beautiful late-antique buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina is Mogorjelo (Čapljina). This unique archaeological monument is a well-preserved ancient Roman villa rustica (a centre of landed property) built by an immigrated Italic in the middle of the 1st century. The building likely burned down in a fire. In the 4th century, a 102 x 86 m rectangular-shaped Roman fortress with corner towers was built on the same site.

The corners and the gates of the large frame wall were protected by three square-based defence towers, while the fourth was circular. The southwest wall had small gates, while the other gates were wide and double-doored. The north gates were decorated with two orthostats - stone blocks depicting acanthus (a Mediterranean plant) on one and grapevines on the other block. The eastern and western gates were similar but lacked decorations. The owner of the complex lived in a two-story palace built within the structure, consisting of a series of rooms adjoining an entrance porch with Corinthian columns. The walls were adorned with false marble, and the floors with mosaics. Rooms for workers' accommodation, storage for tools and agricultural products, and five oil tanks were located inside the building.

Within the villa, two early Christian basilicas were built in the middle of the 5th century. Throughout the entire surface of the former villa, ancient tombs, early and late Slavic graves, and later graves up to the 19th century were found.

(Željka Šaravanja)