At the site of Crkvina in Zavala, in the municipality of Ravno, a stone relief plate of the altar partition on the site of the remains of the Church of St. Peter from the 9th century was found, which represents a large archaeological discovery.
The archeological site of Crkvina is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The discovery of a stone relief altar partition also surprised archaeologists. The plaque was found by chance, during the conservation of the site, which was considered a researched site. Snjezana Vasilj, an archaeologist stated: “We were surprised because we found one of the rare slabs of the altar partition, which was once built into a Romanesque church. It turned out to be the oldest church from the 9th century, the time of the Romanesque. I must point out that this three-passive church, the Romanesque church, is unique in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Apart from here, they have two more in Croatia ”, BHRT writes.
The site of the Church is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This archaeological site is recognizable by the remains of two churches of St. Peter and St. Petka, and a necropolis of stećak tombstones.
Throughout history, five churches have been built on the site. The archaeological team from the University of Mostar came to this knowledge after a revision of the research conducted in 1957.
“The research included two churches, and when we finished the research, it turned out that there were five churches. It is a big place with 42 excavated graves, both in church graves and around them,” Vasilj said.
The churches are located near the Vjetrenica cave and the monastery in Zavala. After conservation, a museum is planned to be built on the site.
This area is known for processing stone materials, the masters of this area will have the opportunity to show their skills.
