THE DISTRIBUTION OF ARTEFACTS OF BRAČ AND SALONA

STONEMASONRY WORKSHOPS IN THE LATE ANTIQUITY PERIOD (4th to 7th

century)
SUMMARY
Decorative stonework from the Late Antiquity and Early Christian periods reveals
certain local traits. Although local masters always imitated imported specimens, taking what
the centres in Rome, Aquileia or Salona dictated as models, it is still possible to recognise
local variants in them. Deposits of high-quality stone on the territory of Croatia have always
made the production of regional artefacts possible.
In Late Antiquity, sarcophagi produced in quarries on the island of Brač were of
special significance. The Brač quarries and sarcophagus workshops in Salona must have been
connected, since the same shapes and decoration methods appear. After basic stonemasonry
work, the majority of blocks were transported to Salona, though a certain number remained on
the island, where stonemasons finalised them based on the Salona model. The sarcophagi
were sold along the whole of the Adriatic, including the Italian Adriatic coast (so far 17 of
them have been recorded in Italy and 1 in Albania).1 It has not been defined yet whether the
export of sarcophagi took place directly from Brač or whether it happened only after work on
them had been completed in Salona. As for the dating of the sarcophagi, it has been accepted
that they originate from the 6th century. There was also a similar decoration on plutei. It is
clear that the sarcophagi and plutei are connected by the workshops. Similarities in the motifs
appearing on liturgical fittings both on the island of Brač and in Salona can be found
throughout the entire Adriatic region, though with characteristic differences in the quality of
workmanship and the methods employed.
The answers to many questions are hidden in Classical Antiquity quarries, which have
only been excavated to a small degree. Systematic excavation would certainly bring to light
some artefacts, or at least fragments of Late Antiquity cut stone.
Key words: stonemasonry workshops, Late Antiquity, decorative work, island of Brač,
Salona
1. THE ISLAND OF BRAČ AND SALONA AT THE TRANSITION FROM LATE
ANTIQUITY TO THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

Salona is extraordinarily favourably located, having the benefits of a safe harbour

while being at the crossroads of important transport routes. Opposite Salona Bay, there is the
island of Brač. It is situated 16-17 km in a straight line from the mainland via the Brač
Channel. To the west, it is separated from the island of Šolta by the narrow Split Straits, and
1
N. CAMBI, 2007, BZ 22, 105, N. CAMBI, Marburg 1999 – Mainz 2002, 48-55.

1
to the south it is separated from the island of Hvar by the Hvar Channel. The island is marked
on Ptolemy’s map from the 2nd century as well as on Peutinger’s 4 th-century one.2 Its eventful
history was also the result of its favourable central position off the Dalmatian coast and
between the mainland and other Central Dalmatian islands, although the island has never had
a major town of any strategic or trading significance, unlike certain other eastern Adriatic
islands. (Paradoxically, although so far there has been no proof of the existence of a major
town there, many cities and their buildings were built of Brač stone.) The strong influence of
Salona was present throughout the territory of the Province of Dalmatia. This is where, with
the help of local stonemasonry and mosaic workshops, the first models of Early Christian
sacral structures and interior decoration were produced. Salona’s metropolitans 3 played an
important role in church architecture, which produced extraordinary works of art
characteristic of Justinian’s restored empire of the Late Antiquity period.
After the middle of the 6th century, i.e. after the end of the war against the Goths 4 that
had lasted for twenty years, a whole series of basilicas were built on Brač in the bays of
Supetar, Sutivan, Postira, Lovrečina, Pučišća and Povlja and also at Bol, along with the Mirje
Monastery near Postira. At that time, imperial quarries were still functioning on Brač, which
played a significant role along Justinian’s navigation route.5
In 392, Christianity became the official religion of the Empire, while old religious and
cultural centres (the forum, capitolium, thermae and theatrus) were neglected. Some of the
structures were dilapidated, and from some of them good quality construction material was
spoliated. The first traces of Christian architecture on the territories of Dalmatia and Istria
appeared near the end of the 3rd century, while in middle of the 4th century the construction of
monumental basilicas in towns and cemeteries outside town walls began.6 Constantine’s
basilicas in Rome and the Holy Land undoubtedly served as a model in constructing these
buildings. Nevertheless, the local structures cannot be compared with monumental basilicas.
They were obviously reduced in form and adjusted to their milieus and religious
circumstances. Near the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century, a new stage in the
development of the Old Christian civilisation commenced. Christianity in Dalmatia, which
until then had been more intensively present in urban complexes, started spreading into the

2
D. KEČKEMET, 1998, 9-10.
3
Archbishops Honorius 527-547, Frontinianus 547-554, and Petrus 554-562 - J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994,
PPUD 34, 21.
4
J. BELAMARIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 8.
5
The affirmation of Christianity in this part of the Classical Antiquity world happened after Diocletian’s
persecution in 304. In this process, many representatives of the Salona church hierarchy and other Christians
were killed.
6
In this period, baptisteries were constructed only in bishopric churches, while later a separate baptistery was
almost the rule (there is one in all the basilicas on Brač). N. CAMBI, 2002, 207-213.

2
country. Architectural forms and other details were standardised, their sizes increased (in
large episcopal centres), churches were split and dual structures came into existence (basilicae
geminate). Typical basilica shapes were almost without exception respected throughout the
whole of Dalmatia. The same construction programmes were also applied in the 6 th century at
other Early Christian complexes in Dalmatian towns (Zadar, Stari Grad on Hvar). Standard-
type basilicas were built in both centuries (5 th and 6th) without any significant amendments
(Central Dalmatia: church ruins in the village of Zmijavci, near Imotski, church ruins in Cista
Velika, Proložac).7 Old Christian architecture in the region in a certain way reflects the shape
of church centres. During the occupation of the eastern Adriatic by the Goths (480-550) and a
period of war, there was a certain decline in the development of Old Christian architecture.8
After the high standards that had been reached in the development of Early Christian
civilisation in Justinian’s period, by the end of the 6 th and beginning of the 7th century a rapid
decline in development occurred. The reason was the decay of Classical Antiquity coastal
towns (preceded by the decline of towns in the Croatian hinterland). The key events that had
opened the way for invasions by early barbarians were the fall of Sirmium in 582 and that of
Siscia (end of 6th century). The Salonitan Christian community was not capable of rebuilding
destroyed cemetery basilicas and other structures after the Avar-Slavic invasions at the
beginning of the 7th century and contented itself by reducing large buildings in cemeteries to
smaller ones instead. In this period, cemeteries were destroyed and many sarcophagi
plundered. At the beginning of the 7th century, many cities in Dalmatia, Istria and elsewhere
were completely destroyed and sacked. What remained were isolated Classical Antiquity
enclaves in the Croatian territories (Zadar, Trogir), and some fortresses in the hinterland and
along the coast. Destroyed towns included Salona, Narona and Epidaur.
Early Christian sacral architecture on the island of Brač has been intensively
investigated and the results published. A group of scholars from the Croatian Conservation
Institute in Split (formerly the Regional Conservation Institute) has worked on it since 1983.
In the context of Early Christian churches on Brač, several conclusions have been reached for
which no certain explanations have so far been found. The first conclusion is that there are a
large number of churches on the island. The second is that many are relatively large in size.
The third is that large basilicas were erected only on the northern side of the island. There has
been no reliable answer to the question of for whom they were built.

7
N.CAMBI, 2002, 212-214.
8
After Justinian’s conquests in the Adriatic, Constantinople became a centre from which new artistic influences
spread. This resulted in new forms in architecture and sculpture. Church ground-plans in the second quarter of
the 6th century were mostly designed following oriental models (central ground-plans or double-walled basilicas,
cross plans, etc.)

3
 We could also say that the forms of Brač churches are characteristic of Central
Dalmatian architecture, particularly from Salona, which was a centre of many cultural and
religious phenomena. There was undoubtedly a close connection between Salona and Brač in
all aspects of life, particularly architecture and sculpture. Another feature that needs to be
pointed out is the fact that Brač churches mostly belong to the highly developed stage of
Christian architecture, characterised by richer standard forms and new developments, such as
T-shaped ground-plans and triconch eastern parts of churches, as well as numerous annexes. 9
It is also interesting that on Brač, titulars of eastern and western origin are mixed, which is
certainly a result of various influences, political shifts and the migration of populations.
1.1. The Position of Brač on the Sea Route between the Southern and Central Adriatic
The island of Brač is favourably situated in a picturesque archipelago. It is located
opposite the Poljice and Makarska Rivieras, between Hvar and Split, overlooked by the rocky
slopes of Mosor and Biokovo. The maritime routes that passed along the eastern Adriatic
shore suggest continuous sea transportation activity between the Neolithic and the Early
Middle Ages. The seafaring route, which has remained the same for millennia, can be
established on the basis of archaeological finds, written sources and meteorological
conditions. All these suggest obvious connections between the Mediterranean coasts, which
were possible only due to seafaring. The reason for the conflicts that occurred in the region
during Late Classical Antiquity was control over the eastern Adriatic maritime route as the
quickest and safest route between Greece, southern Italy and Central Europe.10
An analysis of archaeological finds and settlement sites from the Classical Antiquity
period, written sources, numerous Classical Antiquity accident sites, traces preserved at
maritime sites, and also climatic characteristics enables us to define the Adriatic navigational
route in more detail and with a high degree of certainty 11 (Fig. 28). Having passed the Elafiti
Islands, ships that sailed along the shore would have continued sailing sheltered by the islands
and making use of the consistent winds in the channels and the natural bays suitable for
overnight stays. Further on, the route entered the Korčula Channel, which was the key point in
navigation along this part of the Adriatic.12 After exiting the Channel, depending on the
meteorological conditions present in the Makarska Littoral and Brač Channel, or on the other
route that led along the south-western shore of the island of Hvar and then Brač, towards the
Hylas Peninsula, passing by Cape Ploče (the most dangerous navigational point in this part of
the Adriatic), the navigational route continued between the Šibenik islands along the south-
9
N. CAMBI, 2007, BZ 22, 99.
10
Z. BRUSIĆ, 1999, 146.
11
Navigation in the Adriatic began on the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea and continued along the steep
Albanian shore to the Southern Adriatic (the Elafiti Islands).
12
Z. BRUSIĆ, 1999, 148.

4
western side of the island of Murter, and along the island of Vrgada into the Pašman Channel.
Sailing took place mostly during the daytime from spring to autumn. Natural orientation
points (clearly defined hills, easily recognisable capes, natural shelters) were important for
navigation.
From an economic point of view, the maritime waterway along the eastern Adriatic
coast is the quickest and safest connection between the Orient, Greece, southern Italy, other
Mediterranean regions and Central Europe. It was an important pillar of economic
development along the entire eastern Adriatic coast. In times of peace, the construction of
farm and residential buildings started along this navigation route. In turbulent periods, the
Adriatic waterway was secured. In the Justinian period, when the Adriatic became a
Byzantine-Gothic battlefield, the route was secured by military units in the numerous castra
that were erected along the entire maritime communication route. Justinian’s system of forts
was not in use for long in the 6th century, since the changes that began in the following
century resulted in the arrival of the Croats in the coastal regions. The change in the ethnic
structure of the population and new political events narrowed Byzantine territory to coastal
towns and certain islands.13
At certain sites along the route, one might expect more finds of products from
stonemasonry workshops.14 This has been confirmed by the recent sarcophagus find in the sea
off Sutivan (Fig. 26). The find additionally confirms all previous facts and assumptions about
the transport of unfinished products from Brač to Salona and other centres. The islander who
found it was looking for a post which the old inhabitants of Sutivan used to call kampaneli.
He discovered the largest Classical Antiquity shipwreck with finds of sarcophagi in the
Adriatic at a depth of 32 metres, approximately three hundred metres from the shore. Experts
identified the remains of a Classical Antiquity ship with a cargo of stone sarcophagi.
Altogether, there are seven sarcophagi and a lid, as well as a complete cargo in the form of
stone blocks. It is absolutely certain that the ship had been transporting semi-processed stone
blocks from one of the quarries on the island of Brač, but we do not know where to.15

2. GENERAL FACTS ABOUT LATE ANTIQUITY WORKSHOPS IN THE

ADRIATIC

13
Z. BRUSIĆ, 1999, 149.
14
In 1898, Father Frane Bulić conducted the first submarine archaeological excavations on the territory of
modern Croatia. He documented several sarcophagi which were subsequently used in constructing the quayside
in Vranjica Bay. Several years ago, on the island of Silba, Professor Z. Brusić found several sarcophagi in the
shallow water. Other similar finds originate from the island of Jakljan, where three sarcophagi are visible in the
sand, and from the island of Mljet.
15
The excavations were directed by the Croatian Conservation Institute (HRZ) and the Department for
Underwater Archaeology in Zagreb in 2009.

5
 Not only the Salonitan basilicas, but also church structures in the broader area of the
Province of Dalmatia and along the Adriatic coast, were equipped with church fittings from
local stonemasonry workshops, particularly those linked to the Brač quarries. Sometimes,
they produced sculptures of extraordinarily high quality, such as the perforated plutei with
interwoven cornucopia and acanthus tendrils set in an early Byzantine church in Gata, 16 or the
simple workmanship of church fitting parts found in the Early Christian church of Salona or
in smaller urban and rural settlements. Obviously, it was the sponsors of the particular church
structures who had ordered the fittings that determined the decorative methods. Quality has
clearly always been the result of good material conditions.
Apart from architectural remains, other testimonies to the culture of Late Antiquity
and the worship of Christianity, which was initially latent and then publicly expressed, also
include a small number of stelae, and a larger number of sarcophagi (which particularly in the
6th century bear crosses in relief in the middle of the coffin). Significantly, the sarcophagi
were exported all over the Adriatic as stonemasonry products resulting from the joint
production of Salona and Brač quarries and workshops. Undoubtedly, both the stonemasonry
workshops and citizens needed a period of adaptation to get used to the cross as a symbol of
Christianity. The beginnings of Christianity were a delicate time for both Christians and
workshops. At that time, believers were often persecuted. The most appropriate motifs were
neutral ones which could be interpreted in both a pagan and Christian sense. Only the initiated
knew what they referred to. In Late Antiquity, sarcophagi did not have a central tabula, the
entire front side was free, and the sarcophagi were decorated by a central cross on the coffin.
There were several types of shape and frame for the crosses (for the typology of sarcophagi:
Fig. 12 – Cambi 2007, 105). The popularity of pastoral themes culminated in the period of the
rapid spread of Christianity at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century. Door lintels
of churches were suitable for symbolic decorations. Christograms (on architectural stone
elements and liturgical fittings) and other symbolic motifs such as the Good Shepherd are
entirely in line with contemporaneous artistic expression, while geometrical motifs are
generally found in floor mosaics.

3. PRODUCTS OF STONEMASONRY WORKSHOPS (4th TO 7th CENTURY)

Regulations stipulated by the metropolitan centre were applied throughout the entire
province, as is evident from the architecture, sculptures and paintings of numerous Early
Christian churches. Architectural forms were subject to liturgical requirements, including

16
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, PPUD 34, 34.

6
mainly simple basilica structures.17 The high standard of the Salonitan cultural circle is
confirmed by a series of discovered Early Christian churches furnished with extraordinary
sculptures, and decorated with frescoes and mosaics. This is best illustrated by church fittings
from the Salonitan stonemasonry workshop, which are entirely in line with their time, trying
to imitate imported samples using local material. 18 Early Christian liturgical fittings from the
Province of Dalmatia fully fit into the framework of 6th-century Late Antiquity sculpture.
They include so-called high partitions with square-shaped pilasters ending in pillars or
capitals. The pilasters are sometimes decorated with simple carved ornaments following their
shapes, while the capitals demonstrate a gradual geometrisation of plant patterns. Symbolic
illustrations of Christ predominate on altar partitions. Often, the central position on plutei is
occupied by a cross with sheep next to it, or the cross is in a circle from which ivy branches
emerge. Simplified cross motifs and an X inside the circle were also applied. The reduction of
Christian symbolism (to a cross and sheep) is characteristic of artistic expression in the 6th
century. The altar partitions of Salonitan basilicas and their cultural circle suggest the same.
Identical motifs are also present in episcopal and cemetery basilicas in Manastirine,
Marusinac and Kapljuč, Early Christian churches on Brač (Lovrečina, Postira, Mirje, Bol,
Sutivan), and dual churches in Stari Grad Hvar, the Makarska Littoral (Early Christian church
of St. Petrus), Tučepi, etc. The products of stonemasonry workshops in the course of the Early
Christian period met the needs of basilicas for which the usual liturgical fittings were
necessary: an altar and a stone ceremonial table with the relics of martyrs, usually topped with
a stone ciborium. The chancel was separated from the area reserved for worshipers by an altar
partition (in the Old Christian period usually of the low type), which at the same time closed
off the choir area (schola, cantorum, bema). The pulpit (ambon) was a raised podium from
which the priest delivered the sermon.
3.1. Sarcophagi and stelae – sepulchral monuments
For a long time, the deceased in Rome were either buried or cremated. In Late
Antiquity, the practice of burying the whole body gradually became much more common than
cremation. A body could be buried in several ways: in plain earth, on a plank, in a wooden
coffin, in an amphora, in a grave constructed under tegulae, in a constructed tomb, or in a
sarcophagus. Different kinds of sarcophagi in the form of luxury monuments developed.19 A
sarcophagus consisted of a coffin (casket) and a lid in the shape of a double-sloped roof, with

17
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, PPUD 34, 33.
18
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, Gata: a church from the Justinian period in Split. An ichnographically unique
depiction of Christ’s Resurrection found on the altar lunette in an early Byzantine church in Gata was surrounded
by champlevé reliefs with Christ’s symbols engraved in various types of marble and local (Brač and Seget)
limestone.
19
N. CAMBI, 2004, BZ 21, 258.

7
acroteria angularia, or of a semi-cylindrical shape.20 Thanks to the Brač quarries, a large
number of sarcophagi were produced which were transported from the island, so that only
those that could not be sold and certain specimens produced to order remained. In the Roman
period, grave inscriptions or stelae were the most popular type of sepulchral monuments. 21
Similar to today, the name, origin, occupation and age of the deceased were carved upon
them. Grave inscriptions have rarely been found completely preserved and at their original
site. Mostly, we are dealing with fragments with more or less preserved texts which can only
sometimes be reassembled and interpreted. On the island, the most widespread structure
intended for the cult of the dead from the Early Christian period is the sarcophagus. The stone
for many of the sarcophagi that were either produced on the island or shipped to customers as
raw material, primarily to Salona, was extracted from the Brač quarries.
The form of Early Christian sarcophagi is no different from that of pagan ones. The
difference is only in the ornamentation, as Christians used crosses, Christograms or motifs
from the Old and New Testaments. Early Christian sarcophagi can have three types of lid:
plain double-pitched, semi-cylindrical and flat. Early Christian sarcophagi on Brač, of which
approximately fifteen examples, preserved to greater and lesser extents, have been unearthed,
suggest a way of burial common at the time of the first true flourishing of Christianity. They
are also particularly interesting because, with the exception of Salona, they have not been
preserved in such a large number anywhere else on the Croatian Adriatic. 22 Sarcophagi were
also imported to the island, and a case from Bol is also known.23 With the gradual affirmation
of Christianity and the earliest church structures (late 3rd and beginning of the 4th century) in
the Croatian Littoral, some depictions appeared which were not originally Christian. Thus,
near the end of the 3rd century, iconographic themes such as the ‘Good Shepherd’ and other
pastoral scenes appear which had been taken over from pagan cultural heritage (scenes of
bucolic idyll).24 Nevertheless, such scenes were familiar to Christians, since they appeared in
numerous Biblical passages. Earlier iconography was acceptable to Christians, provided it did
not offend the Christian spirit.
For the stonemasonry workshops, it had become necessary to create a new expression
while turning Christian writings into decorative art. Changes occurred in workshops, which

20
N. CAMBI, 2004, BZ 21, 259-260.
21
N. CAMBI, 2004, BZ 21, 265.
22
I. FISKOVIĆ, 1981, 105.
23
At the Rudina site, a fragment of a sarcophagus was found that belonged to the upper part of the coffin. On the
fragment, the head of a younger man in profile was preserved. The sarcophagus was made of Pentelic marble,
the material of the most significant structures of the Classical Antiquity period. The fragment can be dated to the
second quarter of the 3rd century. N. CAMBI, 2004, Kiparstvo na Braču u antičko doba [Sculpture on Brač in
the Classical Antiquity Period], BZ 21, 265.
24
N. CAMBI, 2002, 256.

8
continued working for pagans but also for Christians. In order to survive, the workshops had
to create a new iconographical repertoire over a short period. Certainly, the clergy also
contributed to creating this repertoire. Often, workshops did not easily give up the models
produced earlier. New iconographical motifs were put on the more important sides of the
sarcophagi, while old and already used ones maintained only a decorative function. In fact,
they served to fill the subsidiary fields of monuments.
The sarcophagus of Hippolytus and Phaedra 25 (from Manastirine) was made in
workshops in the city of Rome. At the beginning of the 4th century, the sarcophagi workshops
in Rome gradually became oriented towards Christian themes. Unlike other workshops
(Athens and Dokimeion),26 they had also worked through the Old Christian period. The
change of motifs was not accompanied by a change in the shape of the sarcophagus and lid.
The decorative expression followed earlier forms of frieze sarcophagi, whose motifs covered
the entire front. As a consequence of this development, only stylistic changes can be
observed. All this shows that Roman production was appreciated in the region, and that
imports ceased only after production closed down in Rome itself (the beginning of the 5 th
century). Somewhat earlier, the production of Attic and Docimium sarcophagi had stopped,
and only the import of Prokonessos marble remained. 27 Only blocks that needed to be shaped
were imported to Dalmatia and Istria. On the island of Prokonessos in the Sea of Marmara,
only architectural decoration was carried out. (Capitals made from Prokonessos marble
(finalised in local workshops) are also frequently encountered in Diocletian’s Palace and
Salonitan churches.) As mentioned earlier, sarcophagi of Prokonessos marble were made
following the architectural structure of the sarcophagus of the ‘Good Shepherd’. They
disappeared near the end of the 4th century.
Sarcophagi workshop activity that used mostly local limestone increased in Late
Antiquity. The sarcophagi still had an architectural volume and tripartite division on the front
side of the casket: a tabula with an inscription in the centre, and fields which may or may not
have been decorated on the sides. The lid was still of an architectural type with acroteria with
portraits. However, this was soon to disappear as a consequence of mediaeval schematisation.
In the middle of the 4th century, interest gradually diminished not only in the figure and
portrait, but also in a more luxurious division of the coffin. 28 On sarcophagi, Christian
symbols and Christograms gradually appeared. In the 4 th century, they occupy a secondary
place in acroteria on the sides of the lid.
25
N. CAMBI, 1988, 69 – Three mythological scenes were set together in a continuous frieze, with all the figures
at an equal level, regardless of their position, in a finalised process of isocephaly.
26
N. CAMBI, 1988, 73.
27
This can also be compared with Brač’s destiny: the product never leaves finalised but always as raw material.
28
N. CAMBI, 2002, 249.

9
 With the disappearance of tabulae, the tripartite division of the front of the casket
vanished too. The inscription is freely written, without any restrictions as there is no frame on
the front. One such, precisely dated, sarcophagus, on which there is nothing but an inscription,
belonged to the Salonitan Bishop Primus (died before 325). The sarcophagus was produced in
the Salonitan workshops. The next change in sarcophagi decoration occurred in the 6 th
century, when a large decorative cross emerged, usually in the centre of the coffin and
generally with a paten at the spot where the arms meet. The cross can also be in a double ring
and without a paten. (Figs. 11, 14, 15, 24 and 27). Basically, it is all the same concept, aimed
at emphasising the cross. Sarcophagi decorated in this way were produced on the island of
Brač and in Salona, and sold not only on the eastern, 29 but also on the western Adriatic coast
(Ravenna, Venice, Barbetta Trani, etc.) The presence of these sarcophagi on the other side of
the Adriatic is confirmed not only by the motif but also by the material of which they are
made: Brač limestone and bituminous limestone. 30 The presence of Salonitan sarcophagi on
the western Adriatic coast suggests that the western market was poorly supplied. In the course
of the 5th century, the shape of the lid sometimes changed on local sarcophagi. Semi-circular
lids such as that of a casket (Fig. 24a) found in Supetar with a cross with a paten show up.
This suggests a new concept of casket instead of that based on the house. It is not quite certain
where and how this type of lid came to be31 (types of sarcophagi and lids of local workshop,
Fig. 15).
In Lovrečina, three coffins were found, one of them with a lid in situ. On two of the
coffins, there was a Latin-type cross (Figs. 8 and 10) in low relief in the middle of the front
face. The only flat lid was found in Lovrečina on a sarcophagus currently kept in the peripter
of Split Cathedral.32 In Bunje, a region in the eastern part of the island, near the ruins of a villa
rustica, several sarcophagi with Christian symbols have been recorded. At present, only one
of them can be seen. On the front face of the preserved acroterion, there is a shallowly carved
regular Christogram. The letter rho is carved into the vertical bar and horizontally below,
there are the letters alpha and omega arranged symmetrically. The sarcophagus has been
dated to the 5th century and is believed to be the oldest in a series of sarcophagi of the same
type.33 The collection of the Dominican Monastery in Bol holds the casket of one sarcophagus
and the lid of another. The shorter sides of the coffin and the double-sloped lid are decorated
with crosses in relief. The crosses are cut in low relief with uneven arms broadened at their
29
A. UGLEŠIĆ, 2006, 52-56.
30
N. CAMBI, 2002, 269.
31
N. CAMBI, 2002, 271 – A luxury sarcophagus made of Prokonessos marble, at present serving as a stand for
the main altar of the 6 th century Kaštel Lukšić parish church (cross in a circle with Heracles’s knot at the bottom,
tendrils of ivy leaves and a sheep at each side in low relief).
32
I. FISKOVIĆ, 1981, J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ 1994, 34-35.
33
D. VRSALOVIĆ, 1960, OSTOJIĆ, 1968, I. FISKOVIĆ, 1981, N. CAMBI, 2004.

10
ends (Fig. 5). In Škrip, we find a larger number of sarcophagi (Figs. 14a) and b)), but only
three of them bear Christian symbols. The first one is in the tavern of the Krstulović house,
with a cross engraved on the face of the coffin. The other is found at the Njivice site, with a
cross in a double ring on the face of the coffin. The third Old Christian sarcophagus, i.e. a
fragment with a relief of a sheep under a cross, has been uncovered recently as the
encasement of a mediaeval grave south-east of the Church of the Holy Spirit. So far, this is
the only unearthed specimen of a figural sarcophagus from a Brač workshop.34
At the Supetar cemetery, along the northern and southern wall of the apse of the small
Church of St. Nicolas, there are two sarcophagi, which are considered to be excellent work
from Late Antiquity workshops in the Adriatic. On the front side of the coffin, old Christian
crosses in a double ring were cut in low relief. The lids are also decorated with crosses almost
along their entire lengths (Figs. 24c) and d)). Both sarcophagi were subsequently used as
graves.35 A 19th-century engraving was later carved and they served for burials yet again.
Similar sarcophagi have been found halfway between Supetar and Donji Humac, near the
Church of St. Lucas, and in Milna at the Studenac site. On the top of the hill at Mihoj Rot
above Dol, a sarcophagus was subsequently used as doorpost in the small pre-Romanic
Church of St. Michael. The sarcophagus in Škrip later served as an oil storage basin. There
are other similar cases on other islands. Tradition has it that near the end of the last century
the inhabitants of Brač used to sell sarcophagi as stone basins for oil storage.

3.2. Individual Fragments of Architectural Sculpture and Liturgical Fittings

Liturgical fittings, as well as other sculptural decorations, were produced in the same
workshops as sarcophagi. The appearance of basilicas in the second part of the 4 th century
required that church fittings be adjusted to the needs of the worshipers and liturgy. The new
religion dictated new requirements. These were: altar mensae, altar partition and pulpit railing
elements, window columns, reliefs above doors, different coverings and other architectural
details. Mensae in Salonitan churches and cemetery oratories were generally simple
rectangular tables with borders. After the figures had gradually disappeared, depictions of
carved or decorative crosses, Christograms etc. appear as details of the church interior. Such
motifs illustrate precise, defined and refined workmanship. Church fittings were mostly made
from local limestone and have a standard decorative repertoire. There is no doubt that
churches were built rapidly due to the increased needs of the Christian community, and
accordingly decoration was simple and prefabricated.36
34
H. GJURAŠIN, 2007, BZ 22, 76; R. BUŽANČIĆ 1994, 80; N. CAMBI 2004, 263.
35
D. VRSALOVIĆ, 1960; H. GJURAŠIN, 2007, BZ 22, 77.
36
N. CAMBI, 2002, 271.

11
 6th century church interiors were often decorated with extraordinarily luxurious fittings
made of Prokonessos marble with motifs of crosses (various types) and Christograms,
combined with different, mostly decorative elements. Such fittings arrived ready-made from
Prokonessos and were made according to standard measurements and proportions.37 Apart
from plutei and ambons, churches also employed capitals with leaves that seemed to be blown
by the wind. They were also in the form of baskets and protomas (mostly birds). It is clear
that gradually the cross was used to an increasing extent as the central motif of various reliefs.

4. DECORATION OF EARLY CHRISTIAN BASILICAS IN SALONA AND ON THE

ISLAND OF BRAČ, AND A COMPARISON WITH ANALOGOUS FINDS
4.1. SALONA
Favourable material conditions under Archbishop Honorius were reflected in the
construction enterprises of the Salonitan metropolis. In accordance with the general
regulations of the time, at the First Council of Salona a decision on chancel fittings was
reached and first applied to Salonitan architecture. The Salonitan metropolitans were above all
devoted to arranging their see (episcopal centre).38
The altar partition of the Basilica Urbana (the northern church of the episcopal
complex) is identical to that in Manastirine, which suggests that both pieces were ordered at
the same time. At that time (6 th century), particular attention was devoted to cemetery
basilicas. They were remodelled and decorated with new fittings. At Kapljuč, the chancel was
broadened, and new floor mosaics and liturgical fittings made. The broadened chancel was
fitted with a new partition with a pilaster with an engraved cross and tendril of ivy leaves
which the researchers of the basilica date to the 6 th century. The cemetery basilica at
Manastirine also underwent reconstruction. A narthex was added, and the chancel furnished
with new fittings. According to Bulić’s description, it was composed of pillars with 6 th-
century Byzantine capitals, which at the same time dates the origin of this architectural
element. The marble altar partition with its series of small pillars, which has an analogy only
in the old cathedral, i.e. the northern church of the episcopal complex (demonstrating a
synchronicity and relatedness to subsequent reconstructions), was dated to the same period by
means of stylistic analysis.39 The plutei with extraordinarily geometrical ornamentation can be
37
N. CAMBI, 2002, 276 – An example is a pluteus with a monogram of Bishop Honorius, marble, Salona, 6th
century.
38
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, PPUD 34, 27 – The plutei (from the cross-shaped basilica in the episcopal
centre) are decorated on both sides, and are made of white marble. One of them contains Honorius’s monogram
in a wreath with two ribbons with hederae coming out of their ends. At the back, there is a Latin cross on a disc
made in low relief. The applied familiar motifs of Oriental origin are typical of the early Justinian period (the
cross-shaped basilica is in addition decorated with a mosaic; Salonitan workshops).
39
N. CAMBI, 1991, Antička Salona [Classical Antiquity Salona], 27-29.

12
assigned to the same period. The similarity of certain parts of the church fittings of the
basilica at Marusinac and the cross-shaped basilica of the episcopal centre is striking. This is
particularly evident in the use of ciborium pillars, representing Salonitan sculpture at its best.
In the southern basilica at Marusinac, fragments of marble pillars with acanthus leaves and
grapevine tendrils were unearthed, and an almost identically decorated example of a pillar
with a capital was found in the cross-shaped basilica of the episcopal complex. 40 A stylistic
analysis of these decorative elements suggests common construction work which may have
been carried out by the same craftsmen and financed by the same sources.
4.2. A LIST OF ARTEFACTS FOUND ON THE ISLAND OF BRAČ WITH
CORRESPONDING DESCRIPTIONS
Ecclesiastically, Brač was administered by the Salonitan metropolis, which was
connected to the Roman Pope. A whole series of Early Christian churches on the northern
side of Brač, as well as on certain other nearby islands, can be explained by the migration of
the population to areas where it was possible to make a living off the land, and at the same
time live more safely. Earlier, there had been no large buildings on the islands (with the
exception of Greek towns such as Issa). The architecture and church fittings of the churches
on Brač and Hvar can be compared with those of Salona.41
Early Christian Brač basilicas42 have not yet been precisely dated in the literature and
scientific papers, although there are several indications, stylistic and liturgical, generally
dating their construction to the short period of Justinian’s Reconquista in the Adriatic, at a
time after the Byzantine-Gothic wars (535-555).43 In the Byzantine-Gothic wars, Salona as the
centre of the Province and a military base for wider operations in the Adriatic and Italy,
frequently changed hands. Demographic stresses, epidemics, a breakdown in production,
urban disorder, inner discord, and the falling apart of the administration caused the fall of
Salona and a whole series of towns.
4.2.1. Povlja
The three-nave Early Christian basilica in Povlja was probably built in the course of
the 6th century on the plateau of the hill dominating the spacious bay in the north-eastern part
40
E. MARIN, 1993, 263.
41
J. BELAMARIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 8 – Fragments of Early Christian basilicas may have been spoliated for the
purpose of constructing small mediaeval churches built at a later stage after the arrival of the Croats, thus being
built into significantly more modest structures.
42
In order to be able to interpret both decorative sculpture and the way the basilicas functioned, it is important to
understand what is at their core: the confessio with the martyr’s relics under the altar in front of the apse, the
baptistery at the side of the church and the narthex in front of the entrance. The variety of typological solutions
found among basilicas on Brač is particularly interesting considering the uniform design of the architectural parts
which create the core of their function.
43
J. BELAMARIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 8 – Near the end of the Classical Antiquity period, with a new
administrative, judicial and military system incorporating the church into the state, the Emperor Justinian for the
last time reconstructed the monumental Roman Empire.

13
of the island of Brač. The main entrance in front of the basilica was decorated with a massive
door lintel. In the middle of the partially reconstructed beam, there was a cross with
outstretched arms. On the sides, stylised plant tendrils were engraved in low relief (Fig. 22).
Among the wavy branches, rosettes interchanged with small single leaves, probably
illustrating grapevines. Also found were two fragments of a doorpost bearing the same
ornamentation, suggesting that the entire doorframe was underlined by stylised grapevines. A
similar concept of ornamentation on stone beams was discovered in the cemetery basilica at
Marusinac in Salona. Here, grapevine tendrils, in which stylised leaves and grapes were
interchanged, had been engraved on the doorposts.44 The larger doorpost fragment belongs to
the left side of the door. Consequently, given the beginning of the tendril, which is not filled
with stylised grapevine leaves, we can assume that it represents the beginning of the bottom
part of the left-hand doorpost45 (Fig. 21a)). Stylobates with pillar bases dividing the basilica
into three naves were also found. Above the pillars, there were acanthus capitals, of which
several specimens were found. A pillar fragment decorated with stylised acanthus was found
in the extension to the tower (1964), along with a double capital with even more pronounced
stylised acanthus leaves.46 Unusually similar acanthus capitals are seen primarily in the
Salonitan basilicas, of which those from the Early Christian Orientalis Basilica beneath the
so-called Hollow Church are particularly interesting, as are those uncovered in Gradina,
which may have originated from the same structure and can also be dated to the 6th century.
The chancel area in the semi-circular inscribed apse was separated by an altar
partition, of which several plutei fragments have been found. Fragments of an altar partition
were found in the walled-in windows of the baptistery (1961) and in the tower stonework
(1964). The former is a relief fragment of a sheep, and the latter a fragment with a lion’s tail.
Two sheep were next to the cross, a frequent symbol on panels of altar partitions of the
Salonitan cultural circle (this is supported by numerous examples from basilicas in Salona and
its surroundings, such as the Early Christian dual churches in Stari Grad on Hvar, St. Petrus’s
Church in Makarska, and in Biskupija near Knin.) According to stone analyses, they are
probably products of the Brač stonemasonry workshops. The other motif, that of a lion’s tail,
has only been encountered in the Early Christian complex at Mirje above Postira, and the

44
Dyggve noticed their Syrian style – J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 23.
45
D. DOMANČIĆ,1994, R.S.O.B., 17 – One of them was already built into the stonework of the baptistery
dome – 1962.
46
Acanthus leaves made in low relief mildly roll up around the edges of the capitals. They are pulled out at the
top, suggesting also a protrusion of the edge volutes. In the middle of the kalathos, triangular elements were
engraved, with acanthus leaves beneath. Here, the usual central motif of an open flower of a classical capital is
completely stylised. This echo of classical motifs suggests a high development stage in Late Antiquity sculpture
of the 6th century, when known ornamentation gradually geometrised.

14
question of its original appearance remains open since it is not represented in other locations
in the Roman Province of Dalmatia.47
At the top of the apse, a triforium has been preserved in situ with the original pillars
and capitals with imposts. The acanthus capital decorations are made in low relief identical to
those on the capitals of the church nave and on the dual capitals of other windows, of which
three specimens are known, suggesting that they were produced at the same time as the
building in the course of the 6th century (Fig. 22). The same baptistery shape as that of this
basilica was found on the northern side of the three-nave basilica in Postira as well as in other
Early Christian centres of numerous provinces (e.g. the baptistery of Zadar cathedral).48
4.2.2. Lovrečina
The Early Christian church in Lovrečina is a single-nave structure with a transept,
surrounded by additional rooms grouped around the main nave. The Early Christian church in
Lovrečina was built in the 6th century according to a singular concept. Its architecture
followed the liturgical regulations dictated by nearby Salona, a metropolis and the capital of
the Province. Its interior was covered with frescoes, whose significant remains complete an
understanding of Late Antiquity wall painting. 49 The church fittings were produced in the
Brač stonemasonry workshops, which completely met the standards of the time. The church in
Lovrečina was part of a still unexplored agglomeration, whose traces are discernible in the
entire bay. In the eastern part, there was a rather large Roman villa rustica, which was also
probably in use later, as in Late Antiquity a larger settlement was built. 50 Future excavations
should shed light on the context of the settlements within which the church structure occupied
a significant position.
In the northern apse of the narthex, 51 a grave was unearthed where sarcophagi had also
originally been found by Bulić (Figs. 8 and 10). The sarcophagi are decorated with crosses
worked in low relief. On one of them, there is a motif of a cross with slightly extended arms
and a paten and button in the middle. This is a typical product of the Brač stonemasonry
workshops, whose specimens are represented at numerous Early Christian sites (Supetar
cemetery, Bunje, etc.) It corresponds to a semi-circular lid with a Latin cross with extended
arms at its top. The second sarcophagus has an unusually shaped cross with a patera in the
middle, from which the triangularly shaped arms of the cross emerge. The lid is flat. The

47
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 23.
48
Apart from the baptistery of the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, this is the only example up to the roof of the
original building of an Early Christian baptistery on the Croatian Adriatic coast.
49
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 33.
50
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 34.
51
N. CAMBI, 2002, 240 – The basilica in Lovrečina Bay on the island of Brač is almost cross-shaped, and a
distinctive trait is that the sides of the narthex end in conchs.

15
chancel was separated by an altar partition made of square-shaped pilasters decorated with
grooves. Rising above them, there were pillars with acanthus capitals. Between the vertical
elements, partition panels (plutei) were set. In archaeological excavations in 1994, numerous
fragments of them were unearthed that belonged to geometrical ornamentations of various
design. The two basic motifs were straight-lined grids and circular elements, which appeared
very diaphanous. One pluteus has the familiar motif of a simplified cross in a circle, of the so-
called “woven basket bottom” type, which was very popular in the repertoire of Brač
stonemasonry workshops (Fig. 9). Above the entrance to the chancel, there was a stone arch,
decorated on one side with grapevine leaves, and on the other with perforated ornamentation
produced extensively using a drilling technique. Extraordinarily refined, almost lace-like
ornamentation has been completely destroyed and is therefore indistinguishable. In the middle
of the apse, right in the axis of the church, a cross-shaped confessio was unearthed. The
position and shape of the grave indicates the position of the altar. 52 Here, a wholly preserved
marble pillar that bore the altar mensa, and the upper part of another pillar with a capital, were
unearthed. Therefore, it can be assumed that the altar was of the table type. A marble plate,
the mensa, was laid on four corner pillars, also of yellowish-white marble. The pillars with a
base and capital were made from one piece of stone. The capitals were decorated with stylised
plant ornamentation of a blossoming flower, characteristic of the mature stage of Late
Antiquity sculpture.
The uniquely preserved sculpture elements enabled a full reconstruction of the
baptistery’s original appearance. Stone beams were laid on four pillars with highly profiled
bases and capitals, decorated with volutes worked in low relief. In the centre of the two
beams, a cross was engraved with slightly expanded arm ends with a button in the centre. The
cross on the stone reliquary and sarcophagi, which are typical products of Brač stonemasonry
workshops, has a similar design.53 On two sides of the capital, there is a series of holes into
which iron rods for hanging curtains were inserted. Analyses of the stone confirm the
intensive production of church fittings made of so-called bituminous limestone originating
from the Škrip quarries, with which many Early Christian churches were fitted in the course
of the 6th century, not only in the territory of the Province of Dalmatia, but also along the
Italian coast. In this period, the baptistery was made with a cross-shaped font and a ciborium,
as confirmed by the sculptures and shape of the baptismal font.

52
On the eastern side, there are three steps, while in the west there is a separate pedestal on which there was a
little stone chest with St. Lawrence’s relics. The reliquary is decorated with engraved crosses on all four sides,
and was set under the triumphal arch, under the altar.
53
D. DOMANČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 28.

16
 Also unearthed were transenna fragments of two types: one composed of double lines
of fish scales, presumably with a perforated circle with a hexafoil in the centre, and one with
perforated squares, in the middle of which there is a cross with arms extending conversely and
diagonally. In the cross, there is an engraved circle crossed with a diagonally set cross. The
frame has a simple longitudinal profile. The transennas are probably part of the altar partition.
Another significant find are four fragments of a central gable semicircle of the passage in the
altar partition, whose cross-section is a circle with a 12.5 cm diameter. On the front side, there
is a tendril with a five-armed leaf (grapevine or fig) in each circle. On the reverse side, the
leafy decoration of the tendrils is damaged and therefore not recognisable, and extensive use
of a drill is evident.54 On the eastern sides of the northern transept, at the spot where there was
a cistern, a fragment of an altar partition panel was found with a circular motif consisting of a
double braid divided into eight fields, and a fragment of panel with traces of two arm ends of
a cross with triangularly spread arms.
4.2.3. Postira
In the region of Zastivanje, east of the church, in 1988 the remains of a three-nave
Early Christian church were discovered. In the direct vicinity of the confessio in Postira,
fragments of stone fittings of an altar partition were found: part of a partition base, a rustically
worked pilaster, parts of a perforated pluteus with a scale motif, and a motif of a simplified
cross in a circle. A marble altar mensa, base and mensa pillars stand out. In several places
around the presbytery, as well as in the drainage canal of the baptismal font, pieces of a rather
large limestone mensa were found, the profile of which is related to Salonitan sepulchral
mensae.55 Although it bore no inscriptions, it presumably covered an altar grave at the level of
the chancel floor. On the pillars above it, there was a Eucharistic table with a marble mensa.56
The sculptures of the Early Christian church in Postira demonstrate the usual shapes
and motifs appearing at Brač sites of the period. In the middle of the central nave, a fragment
of a marble altar mensa with a groove and two fragments of a limestone mensa were
unearthed. Parts of a similar mensa were found in the drainage canal of the baptismal font.
The fragment indicates a high technical quality of workmanship, while other sculptures
demonstrate a rustic quality and modest ornamentation repertoire. Parts of perforated plutei
were uncovered west of the confessio. One pluteus had motifs of fish scales, and the other
belongs to the “woven basket bottom” type, where the circle is in fact radially divided into
eight segments with inscribed semicircles. Pillars of the mensa and their capitals were found

54
D. DOMANČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 28.
55
V. KOVAČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 42.
56
R. BUŽANČIĆ, 1994, PPUD 34, 42-44; V. KOVAČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 42 (By positioning the altar directly
above the relic of a martyr, unity is achieved between the martyr’s cult and the Eucharistic liturgy.)

17
in the presbytery and its direct vicinity, as well as in the northern cistern. The white stone
capital has a simple shape with four bent leaves, while the other one, larger in size, of asphalt
rock has a lily-like flower between the leaves. The pilaster of the altar partition was made
from the same piece as the pillar, and its front is decorated with a motif of carved rectangles.
Probably the acanthus capital found during the expansion of the courtyard, currently exhibited
at the Brač Museum in Škrip, was part of it. The simple repertoire of ornamentation on the
altar partition goes well with the familiar motifs which were made in the Škrip stonemasonry
workshops for the needs of the churches on the island (in the courtyard east of the church,
until recently there was a monumental tablet of asphalt rock from the Škrip quarry, which was
used for the architectural decoration and fittings of Early Christian churches).
4.2.4. Mirje
Mirje is the richest site in stone church fittings produced by Brač stonemasonry workshops.
Various fragments of Early Christian plutei demonstrate that the space of the church’s chancel
was fenced off with a wide partition with a series of plates decorated with geometrical,
vegetative and figural motifs (Fig. 7.)57 Considering the large number of fragments of various
plutei, pilasters and other church fittings, we may assume that the church was situated on the
north-eastern side of the complex, so that the portico was annexed to its southern side. Several
pieces of monumental architectural sculpture have been unearthed in a corridor which led
from the main entrance to the portico. These are cubical capitals and semi-capitals decorated
with acanthus leaves and tendrils, and sculptured vegetative volutes.58 Generally, the full
panels are decorated with various grid motifs: a net in the shape of a rhombus or fish scales
with a twin frame (Fig. 20). They were probably on the sides of the altar partition, while on
the front side there were plutei with symbols of the Resurrection. 59 Parts of this group of
plutei include different varieties of cross. The entire surface comprises an oblong cross with a
broad patera or stylised Christogram consisting of a ribbon or woven basket bottom motif. A
fragment of a pluteus corner may have belonged to a similar assembly, since this motif mostly
appears on the sides of a cross with four equal members in a medallion, as confirmed by finds
from Early Christian sites in Dalmatia.60
There probably should have been a cross as the central motif on either side of the
partition, approached by animal figures on both sides,61 with the result that the actual meaning

57
E. MARIN, 1980, PPUD 21, 85-90; E. MARIN, 1992, PPUD 32, 120-124.
58
V. BEZIĆ, 1961, PPUD 13 – Semi-capitals with a series of acanthus leaves and monolithic semi-pilasters built
in St. Petrus’s church at Prik demonstrate a similar workmanship to the sculpture from Mirje. They must have
belonged to an Early Christian church for which stone decorations were made by Brač stonemasons.
59
V. KOVAČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., Mirje, 52.
60
V. KOVAČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., Mirje, 53.
61
Smaller parts of figural plutei with a depiction of the claws of a beast or of sheep are not sufficient for a
complete iconographical reconstruction. Given that the beast’s paws are in the bottom corners of the panel, the

18
of the artistic presentation is in the interrelationship between the plutei. On their front side, the
pilasters of the altar partitions have a usual profile, like those in Postira and Bol. Some of
them have been worked on two sides.
There is an interesting example from Posedarje near Zadar (Figs. 18a) and b)) which is
analogous to the fish scales motif found along the entire Adriatic coast. However, it still needs
to be established where the stone from which it was made originates from. This is an Early
Christian pluteus decorated on two sides from the surroundings of the Church of the
Assumption.62 On the basis of an iconographical-stylistic analysis of both sides of this pluteus
fragment, as well as a comparison with a series of analogous specimens of Early Christian
stone fittings (mostly from the territory of the Province of Dalmatia and Italy), it was dated to
the period of the 5th to 6th century63 (more probably the first half of the 6 th century). On the
front side of the pluteus fragment, the decorative field has two frames: an outside flat frame
and an inside profiled frame. Of the decorative motifs, a kantharos has been preserved 64 from
which vines with grapes and leaves climb. The right side of the pluteus has not been
preserved. The decorative field on the reverse, as well as the front, has two frames, a flat and
a profiled one. The decorations are fish scales in relief (squamae). The fish scale motif (found
on the reverse of the fragments of the Posedarje pluteus), one of the most frequent
illustrations in Early Christian art, was also used in Late Antiquity mosaics and frescoes (Fig.
31). The majority of finds of stone church fittings decorated with the scales motif have been
dated to the period of the 5th-6th century. The largest number of finds of stone monuments
decorated with this motif (in the region) originate from Salona, 65 followed by stone fittings
from Povljana (St. Nicholas’s on the island of Pag), Pridraga (St. Martin’s), Sali (St. John’s
on Dugi Otok), Kijevo near Vrlika, Postira (Mirje), Lučnjak in the Pelješac Channel, and
Stonsko Polje (St. Petrus’s). All the above-mentioned finds have been dated to the 6th century.
The largest number of stone fittings decorated with scales originates from Italy,
particularly from the territory of Rome. A fragment from the church of San Giovanni a Porta
Latina is closest to the Posedarje fragment. It has been dated to the second half of the 5 th or
the beginning of the 6th century (Fig. 19). The workshop of origin of the Posedarje pluteus is

composition is obviously not symmetrical, but probably an illustration of a single animal on one panel.
62
It is kept in the Mediaeval Department of the Archaeological Museum in Zadar, made of white limestone, its
dimensions being: length 47 cm, height 58 cm, thickness 4-9 cm.
63
A. UGLEŠIĆ, 1993, 145.
64
The kantharos motif was adopted in Early Christian art from Late Antiquity. Motifs of kantharoi are frequent
on the territory of Italy, particularly in mosaics. In Early Christian stone sculpture, they are most widely
represented in northern Italy, particularly in Grado and Aquileia (in Croatia, the motif appears on church fittings
in Poreč, Kaštel Sućurac, Split and Narona). A. UGLEŠIĆ, 1993, Diadora 15, 146.
65
Kapljuč, Marusinac, Episcopal Basilica – A. UGLEŠIĆ, 1993, 147.

19
almost certainly to be found in Zadar, where there were significant stonemasonry workshops
for the production of church fittings.66
4.2.5. Supetar
In the Supetar area, Old Christian sarcophagi were found in the local cemetery, now
next to St. Nicholas’ Church chancel, and St. Petrus’s Parish Church, while one is in the sea
off Vlačica Beach on the cape of Sveti Nikola (modern-day cemetery – Figs. 24a), b) and c).
Even today, there is a sarcophagus on the church square, which originally may have belonged
to the narthex of an Early Christian basilica (Fig. 16). In the rubble next to the western wall, a
fragment of a Late Antiquity capital decorated with stylised plant ornamentation was
unearthed. The Early Christian basilica in Supetar was probably dedicated to St. Petrus. St.
Petrus’s relics were in the possession of the cemetery basilica at Manastirine in Salona, and
the saint was also honoured at many other places as the patron of Early Christian basilicas.67
Beneath the Supetar cemetery, there are high walls from the Classical Antiquity
period. At present, their extent is unclear. A Late Antiquity structure constructed with
diagonally laid cut stones is recognisable, and there are clearly visible traces of an outside
entrance with the beginning of an arch. Next to the apse of the cemetery chapel, there are two
Early Christian sarcophagi with semi-cylindrical lids which were subsequently used for
burials68 (Figs. 24 and 25). On the front side, both have a cross with extended arms with a
paten and circular embossment. On the lid, there is a Latin cross in low-relief with
triangularly expanded ends, as on the Lovrečina sarcophagus. In the sea near the Late
Antiquity walls, there is part of the sarcophagus lid. The find suggests that there was possibly
a Late Antiquity cemetery chapel in the area of the present-day cemetery in Supetar.
4.2.6. Sutivan
At the Mostir site, east of Sutivan, next to the little Church of St. John, the foundations
of an Early Christian church with a triconch chancel ending were unearthed. In front of the
door of the 17th century Church of St. John,69 a marble altar mensa with a characteristic
recessed profile was sunk to serve as walkway, and has largely been preserved. In the course
of the archaeological campaign,70 at the site of the northern conch, along with the remains of
the border profile, a marble fragment of an altar partition was unearthed that had a
triangularly expanded cross-arm ending. The panel had a groove that enabled the partition to
fold. Near the northern wall of the basilica, a pilaster fragment was unearthed with a threefold
66
B. MIGOTTI, 1991, 167-172; A. UGLEŠIĆ, 1993, 153.
67
J. JELIČIĆ-RADONIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 57.
68
They are in very bad shape and have been kept in inadequate conditions for many years. The stone surface is to
a large extent eroded due to lichen, moss and the weather.
69
This partly used the structures of the Early Christian church.
70
The campaign was conducted by the Regional Institute for the Protection of Monument Culture in Split in
1965.

20
tendril closing the circles with rosettes. This is where another pilaster fragment was unearthed
with a pillar trace on it. A mensola with a festoon, with its endings bent in a volute, was found
at the same place and may have stood at the top of a semi-pilaster.71
In addition to these finds, we should also mention seven newly (2009) unearthed
sarcophagi in the sea, approximately 300 metres off the shore at Sutivan (Fig. 26).
4.2.7. Škrip
Škrip is a hill-fort settlement in the Brač hinterland which enjoyed significant status
throughout Classical Antiquity. Due to its rich layers of high-quality stone, naturally fortified
Škrip soon became more important as a quarry centre than as a military stronghold. Near the
old quarries of Plate, Rasohe and Zastražišće, there are the remains of quarry worker
settlements, and the inscriptions on altars mentioning the architectural enterprises of Roman
soldiers who surveyed public project works testify to the importance of these sites in which
quarrymen from different parts of the empire worked. 72 The closest bay, Splitska, became an
important port, entirely owing to its proximity to the quarries which exported stone blocks.
Even in the present day, there are sunken Roman blocks here. Škrip’s position combined the
advantages of a natural fort with the exploitation of layers of high-quality stone as a vitally
important Classical Antiquity industry. Salona is also nearby. This was a large centre with
which vibrant maritime connections existed. Škrip was probably destroyed and deserted
before being populated by new inhabitants in the first half of the 7th century.73
The remains of rooms belonging to the building that preceded the Church of the Holy
Spirit in the church surroundings were excavated in a 1992 campaign. In front of the doors to
the church, an Early Christian pilaster of an altar partition was unearthed. Its monumental
nature and high-quality workmanship do not correspond with the building, so it may have
been spoliated into it after having been brought from another Early Christian church. An Early
Christian altar mensa was also unearthed in the apse pavement. Made of limestone, of rustic
workmanship, with a simple profile sunk into the upper surface, it corresponds with the period
of the last Early Christian construction works on the island.
A fragment of an Early Christian sarcophagus, unearthed as an encasement of a
mediaeval grave in the last archaeological campaign south-east of the church, has been the
only example of a figural sarcophagus of Brač workshops found so far. Škrip is a particularly
important site for sarcophagi finds,74 having completed the typology of the many sarcophagi

71
D. DOMANČIĆ, R.S.O.B., 1994, 64.
72
D. VRSALOVIĆ 1960, KSOB, 46.
73
R. BUŽANČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 77 – Toma Arhiđahon, Kronika [Archdeacon Thomas, Chronicles], Split
1977, 35.
74
I. FISKOVIĆ, 1981, 114-119.

21
crosses by adding a cross with a sheep on each side. On the fragment, to the right of the cross,
are the legs and tail of an animal similar to those from the known illustrations of a sheep on a
tegurium from Splitska (Fig. 23).
The largest number of sarcophagi were found in Škrip (Figs. 14a) and b), which was
certainly a result of the vicinity of the quarry and the quarry tradition of the settlement. They
are all distributed outside the hill-fort perimeter. Two sarcophagi, one in the Krstulović house
tavern, the other at the Njivice site, can with certainty be assigned to the Early Christian
period according to the decoration on the front side of the coffin. The second has a cross with
equal arms in a circle (crux coronata), and next to it there is a lid in the form of a double-
sloped roof with acroteria angolaria. On the first, the bottom end of the cross is connected
with a triple circle, and the circle is connected to the prominent bottom edge of the
sarcophagus with a three-strand braid.
4.2.8. Bol
On the Glavica Peninsula, a Dominican monastery was established in the second half
of the 15th century. In 1983, a part of the Late Antiquity architectural complex was
uncovered75 (the sacral complex of St. John and Theodorus). The large number of fragments
of sacral fittings indicate part of the Early Christian complex. In the walls of the little church,
particularly in the additionally built pilasters (decorated with grooves similar to Postira, Mirje
and Škrip), and in the interior, a large number of fragments of sculpture and an almost entirely
preserved Early Christian altar partition were found. On two very narrow plutei, whose
dimensions suggest that they may have been part of a side of the partition, relief crosses with
expanded arms and a patera in the middle were engraved (Fig. 5). On their side walls, ribs
were subsequently added for pilaster grooves. Crosses of the same type with a small disc at
the intersection of the arms and an embossment in the centre regularly appear on sarcophagi
products of stonemasonry workshops connected to the quarries around Škrip. 76 Apart from the
finds at Glavica, a sarcophagus is mentioned as early as the 19 th century. It was used at a
spring as a watering-trough. On its shorter sides, it was decorated with a relief cross with
expanded arms. The double-sloped lid has acroteria angloaria, and on the shorter sides there
is the same cross motif.
4.2.9. Other Individual Finds
On Smrčevik Hill, between Donji Humac and Selaci, the pre-Romanic church of St.
Cosmos and Damian was erected. In the altar, a fragment of a sarcophagus with a cross was

75
V. KOVAČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B, 84.
76
Typologically closest to them are the crosses on sarcophagi from Lovrečina, Supetar and from the vicinity of
St. Lucas’s Church near Donji Humac. Compare I. FISKOVIĆ, 1981, 118, 120-121. Fragments of a pluteus with
a cross, but with a significantly broader patera, were also unearthed at Mirje – E. MARIN, 1992, 121.

22
bricked in. The cross in a medallion with extraordinarily expanded arms had a paten with a
circular embossment in the centre (Fig. 11 a).
Dol, St. Vitus’s Church. A double window pillar from an unknown Early Christian
church was used as a mensa support for the original altar. The capitals were decorated with
bent acanthus leaves as in the basilica in Povlja.
St. Lucas’s Church near Donji Humac. A sarcophagus was found in the field close to
the little church. On its front side, there is a relief cross with expanded ends, accentuated with
an engraved groove. At the intersection of the cross arms, there is a paten with a circular
embossment. In the vicinity, there is part of the lid with a double-sloped roof and acroteria.
Nerežišća, St. George’s Church. A marble impost of the window of the Early
Christian church was built into in the mensa support. In the middle of the impost, there is a
relief cross with expanded arms. From the bottom of the hasta, acanthus leaves emerge,
covering the edges.
Nerežišća, St. Tudor’s Church. According to scholars participating in the 1958
campaign, the little church beneath the hill-fort at Velo Brdo belongs to the Early Christian
period. In the course of mediaeval adaptation, its interior received wall pilasters. In the
campaign, several parts of sarcophagi were unearthed. These had been built into the church’s
subsequently added pilasters. Three fragments with crosses used to be parts of sarcophagi
front decorations. On one of them, the Latin cross had extraordinarily triangularly expanded
ends, and on another the expanded end of a two-strand hasta was filled with parallel incisions,
while on the third there was a motif of a cross under an arcade. The latter seldom occurs in the
currently known repertoire of Brač workshops. The finds have been misplaced.
Zmajeva Spilja. Above the village of Murvica, on the southern side of the island,
there is a mediaeval hermitage in a cave. It is called Zmajeva Spilja (Dragon’s Cave). Several
Early Christian marble fragments (grey-greenish cipollino) were found in it. These are kept in
the Dominican Monastery Collection of Stone Monuments in Bol. A fragment of a Corinthian
capital with a piece of abacus, corner volutes and an acanthus slice was unearthed.
5. TYPES OF STONE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE STONEWORK OF THE LATE
ANTIQUITY PERIOD
The three most frequent types of stone from which stone sculptures were produced in
stonemasonry workshops were:
- local limestone, worked in local stonemasonry workshops;
- stone sculpture products of imported Prokonessos marble, but finished in local
stonemasonry workshops;
- directly imported, ready-made products, finished in workshops abroad.
The walls making up the lithosphere are geologically divided into three groups:

23
 - igneous rock (including granite);
- sedimentary rock (including limestone);
- metamorphic rock (including marble).
5.1. Local limestone
Brač and Seget limestone
Limestone, dolomitic limestone, dolomite, sandy limestone, sandstone, flysch, breccia
and Quaternary deposits account for the majority of Brač lithography. What is widely known
as “white Brač stone” is in fact Senonian limestone. It is common in the northern, eastern and
south-eastern parts of the island (Fig. 30). On Brač, there are about twenty different kinds of
limestone, varying from almost entirely white to dark brown. There is also so-called
bituminous limestone (near Škrip).77 At the Asmosia IX Conference in Tarragona, a map 78
was presented which plotted known Classical Antiquity quarries (Fig. 3).
In the 1st and 2nd century, sarcophagi workshops had not been established yet. There
were no regular production schemes and patterns. When stonemasonry workshops started
working according to models, the product price was usually reduced. 79 The establishment of
workshops standardising forms started in the region near the end of the 3 rd century. Local
workshops began imitating imported sarcophagi. Generally, Attic sarcophagi were imitated
(the motifs being Erotes carrying grapes or Erotes carrying festoons). Despite numerous
quarries and high-quality stone from Brač, the main workshops were in Salona. There are
examples of sarcophagi made in local (Salonitan) workshops from local limestone (divided
into three fields, an inscription in the middle, Erotes on the margins with torches turned
upside-down, etc.) Almost fifty such sarcophagi have been found. It was a typical product of
the Salona-Seget workshops on Brač. Sometimes, workshops had ready-made forms, even
without any prior connection to the customer, who subsequently had a choice of selecting a
decoration in the outside fields. The connection between quarries and workshops was that the
quarries prepared blocks with a recess inside.
The last stage of sarcophagi development was in the 4 th century. In this stage, the
production process included only coarse workmanship on the lid, while the coffin had no
division into fields, and the inscription was written without the order of previous examples

77
D. DOMANČIĆ, 1994, R.S.O.B., 73. St. Andrew’s Church is located halfway between Splitska and Škrip on
Brač, near the Škrip quarries from which stone for the construction of Diocletian’s Palace and later Early
Christian churches in Dalmatia was quarried. The quarries were particularly in use in the Early Christian period,
as the local bituminous limestone, which on Brač was called asphalt rock, was used to make decorative parts of
Early Christian churches in nearby Salona and the rest of Dalmatia.
78
DONELLI, MATIJACA, PADUAN, RADOVANOVIĆ, 2009, Tarragona. I would like to thank my colleagues
for providing the material.
79
Sometimes, the prices were also quoted in the sarcophagi inscriptions, as well as the total amount spent on the
funeral.

24
(e.g. the sarcophagus of the Salonitan bishop Primus, the nephew of Bishop Domnius (305-
325)).
5.2. Imported marble, examples of imports
In Classical Antiquity, Pentelic, Prokonessos and Parian marble (all three types of
Greek origin) were particularly common.
Prokonessos marble. An island near Istanbul (present-day Marmara). This marble is
relatively coarse grained with a partly blue-grey veining. On the territory of Croatia,
specimens of this marble can mostly be dated to the end of the 1 st and the beginning of the 2nd
century. They also occur in the course of Late Antiquity, but to a much smaller extent. Blocks
were also imported from Prokonessos. At that time, sarcophagi were divided into three fields.
The fields mostly contained Erotes.
- Prokonessos marble. Generally, the products were finished on the territory of present-day
Croatia.
- Carrara marble. Sarcophagi workshops in the city of Rome worked with marmor lunesis,
named after the ancient Roman town of Luna in the Carrara region.
- Pentelic marble. Attic sarcophagi (from the city of Athens), which are very expensive
(example from Koločep, centaurs hunting a lion and a lioness),are made of Pentelic marble.
The quarries were opened by Pericles.
• Practical use of marble
This group unites the categories of solid and medium solid carbonate, calcite and
dolomite rocks of sedimentary and metamorphic formations. This group also includes solid
and medium solid limestone, travertine and onyx. These are rocks that can easily be worked.
Marble is unstable against weather, particularly in an urban environment. Its polished and
finely worked surfaces soon lose their finishing details. Real marble, in a petrological sense,
i.e. metamorphic carbonate, calcite and dolomite rocks, are as a rule compact rocks of a
homogenous structure.80
6. DIAGNOSTICS
Origin and geological formation – The island of Brač is formed from solid limestone
and dolomite rock. It emerged about 100 million years ago in the earliest Mesozoic Age: the
Cretaceous period. At that time, where today’s island is located, there was shallow sea.
Numerous bivalvia (rudists) deposited their shells, which in the process of sedimentation
created so-called rudist limestone. After that, near the end of the Cretaceous and the
beginning of the Tertiary, the land started to rise from the sea. After another rise of land in the
Eocene epoch, the Brač soil was formed, not as an island, but as part of the mainland. About a
80
B. CRNKOVIĆ, LJ. ŠARIĆ, 2003, 247.

25
million years ago, in the Pleistocene epoch, a very cold climate prevailed. Permanent
precipitation generated a river that ran along Brač with several tributaries, carrying stone,
sand and silt, depositing them in the lower valleys, thus creating a stone layer of diluvial
breccias (particularly near Bol, where today we can see cemented pebbles). At that time, as
part of the mainland, Brač was populated by wild horses and bovines, deer and bears, the
bones of which are found in the breccia soil. In the Holocene epoch, 20 to 30 thousand years
ago, the land subsided again and Brač separated itself from the mainland, thus becoming an
island.81 The types of soil on the island came into being through destruction (erosion),
transmission (by water) and depositing. As a result, the present soil of the island of Brač
consists of limestone, sandy limestone, sandstone, loess, breccia, pebbles, sand, clay and red
soil.
Due to the prevalence of limestone, Brač is rich in and well-known for its white and
grey stone of superb quality, which has been used worldwide in construction ever since the
Classical Antiquity period. The specific soil in which limestone prevails is karst with its
characteristic karst forms.
6.1. MINERALOGICAL-PETROGRAPHICAL ANALYSES
Stone samples for the mineralogical-petrographical analysis are taken from the least
visible parts of certain artefacts. The recommended quantity of samples to be submitted to a
mineralogical-aerographical analysis is 40-50 grams, and the size approximately 1 cm 3.
Samples should be taken once or several smaller compact pieces can be taken. When this is
not possible, they are taken from the powder of a drill-hole.
Table – division of grained structure according to mineral size82
Name of Mineral size in mm
structure
Very fine grained Less than 1
Fine grained 1-3
Medium grained 3-10
•Coarse grained 10-30
Very coarse grained Over 30

6.2. PLAN FOR THE CONTINUATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL CAMPAIGNS

AND FOR CONDUCTING CONSERVATION WORK ON INDIVIDUAL
ARTEFACTS

81
D. KEČKEMET, 1998, 9-10.
82
B. M. FEILDEN, 1979, 64-79.

26
 After an overview of the previously described sites and artefacts, which have been
preserved to various extents, it is impossible to neglect the examples of degradation of the
remains of cultural heritage we are confronted with. In view of the old age of archaeological
remains (despite the use of limestone with its excellent durability), as well as the fact that they
have constantly been exposed to external factors, the slow degradation of material caused by
weather (rain, sun, wind) and vegetation is unavoidable.
Stone, as well as other construction materials such as brick, mortar and plaster, is
prone to various aging and decay processes. A common cause of the decay of such materials
is the damp that enters their pores, i.e. the effect of salt which is transported into the stone by
the damp via capillaries. The destructive processes are of a very complex physical and
chemical nature. For material diagnostics it is extremely important to identify harmful soluble
salts. This can be achieved by qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses. These generally
enable the determination of anions: sulphates, chlorides, nitrates and carbonates. Cations
(potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium) are determined if a certain salt is suspected.
Stone always creates a patina on its surface, which is a more solid calcitic layer on
which, over time, different particles of dirt, dust etc. are deposited, sometimes having a
harmful effect on the material. Due to this surface layer of dirt, sometimes it is optically
impossible to tell marble from limestone. Studying the materials described on the previous
pages means that it is inevitable that artefacts will be encountered which require at least
consolidation of the stone. It would not make much sense to write a project on the restoration
of all the artefacts currently in museum depots. However, one has to begin and to confront the
problem of depots overloaded not only with stone inventory decaying due to inappropriate
monument maintenance, but also of pieces of inventory which have still not been assigned
inventory numbers. Nevertheless, it would be a great pleasure if this intervention regarding
inventory deposits and excavated and inadequately exhibited material led to even a small step
forward in their protection and future presentation.
7. CONCLUSION
We are familiar with several hundred of typical fragments from Late Antiquity and
Early Mediaeval sculpture (from this part of the Adriatic), decorative fragments of structures,
gravestones and other inscriptions in stone. If to this number we add those found earlier,
which with time have been destroyed, taken away or used as common construction material,
as well as those that haven’t been published yet, we see that the population of Late Antiquity
left plenty of monuments testifying to their life and civilisation, building work, craftsmanship
and artistic skills. The fragments of sculpture found suggest only a part of the real wealth of
the architectural sculpture of the Early Christian period. The development of Late Antiquity

27
Old Christian art in the first half of the 7 th century was interrupted by the Avar-Slavic
invasion, which destroyed some towns. The path was thus laid for Early Mediaeval art.
The existence and vicinity of quarries on Brač (which has always been a deposit of
material) has always called for skilled local stonemasons. Although there must have also been
smaller, less well-known workshops at other sites which were a part of smaller quarries, e.g.
on Hvar and Korčula, and in Istria and Zadar and its surroundings, in order to complete the
picture of the products of local workshops from both Salona and Brač, it is necessary to
systematise the types of stone by site. A complete database of local limestone types from
different quarries would certainly contribute greatly to systematising finds of Early Christian
stone decorative work, which would help answer questions regarding the origin of individual
finds.
The continuity of the methods of material processing has played an important role in
the context of stone processing since the Classical Antiquity period. The processing methods,
from selecting large blocks in quarries to the final product, have always been the same (with
small changes due to improvements in tools and advances in technology). Up to the present,
there has been the same sequence in the use of tools, from coarser to more precise processing.
Inevitably, the question arises why Brač generally exported raw materials (unprocessed stone
blocks) even though all the requirements for exporting finished stonemasonry artefacts were
present. This has remained a problem up to the present era, and a solution is not in sight due
to influential political and industrial lobbies.
In future archaeological campaigns, it is necessary to compare to an even greater
extent the literature of older colleagues and to consult authors participating in previous
campaigns on similar sites. Studies of the island’s toponymy (Petar Šimunović and older Brač
chroniclers) might reveal toponyms concealing still unearthed remains of Late Antiquity
civilisation. In this text, only those artefacts were mentioned which definitely represent
products of Brač stonemasonry workshops, thus only scratching the surface, from beneath
which new facts might be brought to light. In order to be able to further advance the study of
this subject matter, systematic mineralogical-petrographical analyses, as well as a database on
the types of stone at quarry sites, along with types of stone of which the artefacts were made,
are necessary.

8. FIGURES
1 Map of sarcophagi sites on the island of Brač (Fisković, 1981)
2 Sites of Brač sarcophagi in the Adriatic (Fisković, 1981)
3 Map with plotted quarries on Brač and the east Adriatic coast (Donelli, Matijaca, Paduan,
Radovanović, 2009)

28
4 a) b) and c) Rasohe, a Roman quarry close to Splitska Bay (Miliša Jakšić, 2008)
5 A sarcophagus from Bol (Kovačić, 1994)
6 A pluteus from Bol in the Dominican monastery (based on E. Marin, Kovačić, 1994)
7 A pluteus from Mirje, currently in the Museum of Brač in Škrip (E. Marin, 1992)
8 A sarcophagus and sculpture parts from Lovrečina (R.S.O.B., 1994)
9 Salona, Manastirine, view from the West (Miliša Jakšić, 2008)
10 A sarcophagus from Lovrečina with acroteria (Cambi, N.)
11 a) Fragments of sarcophagi from the Church of St. Cosmos and Damian at Smrčevik
(R.S.O.B., 1994)
b) Fragments of sarcophagi from St. Tudor’s Church near Glogovik (R.S.O.B., 1994)
12 A pluteus fragment from Lovrečina (R.S.O.B., 1994)
13 A comparison of sarcophagi from a) Škrip and b) Šolta (Fisković, 1981)
14 a) and b) Some of the sarcophagi from the surroundings of the Cerineo Citatel in Škrip
(Miliša Jakšić, 2009)
15 Typology of Old Christian sarcophagi (N. Cambi, 2007)
16 A sarcophagus in front of the parish church in Supetar (Šimunović, 1987)
17 A cross from the sarcophagus in Bunje (Šimunović, 1987)
18 a) The front and reverse of a pluteus from Posedarje (Uglešić, 2002)
b) Reconstruction of the pluteus (Uglešić, 1993)
19 a) A pluteus from Rome, San Giovanni a Porta Latina (Uglešić, 1993)
b) Kijevo, Gradina Sv. Mihovila, a pluteus fragment from the screen of an Early Christian
chancel (Uglešić, 2006)
20 Mirje, pluteus fragment (R.S.O.B., 1994)
21 Mirje, capital fragment (R.S.O.B., 1994)
22 a), b) and c) Povlja, church fitting fragments (R.S.O.B., 1994)
23 A relief from Splitska
24 Illustrations of sarcophagi from the Supetar cemetery (Miliša Jakšić, 2008)
a) A sarcophagus on the right side of the cemetery chapel apse
b) A sarcophagus lid on the left side of the apse
c) 1866 is visible engraved on the left side of the cross of the sarcophagus in Fig. b)
d) Same as c) – detail
25 Crosses from sarcophagi in Supetar, a better condition of the reliefs is visible than in Fig.
24 (Šimunović, 1987)
26 Sarcophagi found in the sea off Sutivan (Slobodna Dalmacija, 2009)
27 A sarcophagus with a cross in a circle with ivy tendrils emerging, limestone, Salona (Cambi,
2002)
28 Galovac, church – a perspective view of the screen of a chancel of an Early Christian
church, (Belošević, 1993)
29 A map of Classical Antiquity trade routes (S. Glušević)
30 Litologija otoka Brača [Lithology of the Island of Brač] (Brački Zbornik 21, 2004)
31 Muline, Stivan, ruins of an Early Christian memoria – a detail of the floor mosaic in the
apse of the memoria (Domljan, Petricioli, Vežić, 1991)
32 Brbir, Vavaria – Early Christian memoria with sarcophagi (Uglešić, 2006)
33 Gradec, Church of the Nativity – lids of Late Antiquity sarcophagi (Uglešić, 2006)
34 a) and b) Archaeological excavations near St. Martha’s Church from 1902 until 1905
(Gnjurašin, MHAS photo collection)

29