Altar Wall of a 9th Century Church Discovered

A group of archaeologists discovered a valuable artifact in the area of ​​the Ravno community in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina - a stone relief slab from the altar partition of a 9th century church, Opcinaravno.ba reports.

According to archaeologist Snezana Vasil from the University of Mostar, on October 21, 2020, during the completion of work at the archaeological site of Crkvin in Zavala, valuable evidence of the presence of Christianity in this area in ancient times was discovered on the remains of the church of St. Peter.

“This is the pinnacle of my research work. We found a relief slab of the altar partition, which is associated with the construction of the oldest church from the pre-Romanesque period, ”said the researcher.

The slab is richly decorated with symbols related to Christianity, a bird holding a bunch of grapes and a chalice are carved on it.

Remains of three churches were found in the place of the find. The oldest of them (where the altar wall with relief slabs was located) dates back to the 9th century, it was built in the shape of a trefoil. At the moment, it is the oldest Christian church in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition to buildings, numerous tombs have been explored on the territory. With their number, location and structure, they complete the scientific picture of the area.

Source: Pravlife (Russian)