|
Trpceva church, Dunje, Prilep
|
Place
|
|
|
Trpceva church, late antique settlement, early Christian church and medieval necropolis, Dunje, Prilep
locality: the area between the villages of Kalen and Dunje or 2 km southwest of the village of Dunje, about 300 m to the left of the modern Prilep-Vitolište road; on a larger surface there are the remains of destroyed buildings
early Christian basilica: the central area of the site is occupied by a three-nave basilica of modest dimensions with a small semicircular apse to the east; the almost square nave measures 8.50 x 8.75; the narthex is rectangular and has a room at the northwest corner (diakonicon); on the south side is a circular room - a baptistery; the church is solidly built of crushed stone and lime mortar; the walls have been preserved up to 1 m high; 1985 the locals, on their own initiative, built a new church of stone and mud on the foundations of the old building.
dating of the basilica:
based on the layout of the annex next to the church (the baptistery on the south side), it belongs to buildings before the Justinian era in the southwestern parts of Macedonia; it was probably built before the great construction projects of the emperor Justinian's fortification system.
settlement: in the immediate vicinity of the church, on an area of about 300x500 m, you can see the remains of buildings that belonged to the late antique settlement.
necropolis: there is a necropolis around the church, 142 graves were explored; it is a single-layered necropolis 'in rows', whose graves are carved in crumbly (soft) rock, and the constructions were made with partial or complete fencing on the inside; there are also graves without fences
grave finds: items for decoration: earrings, bracelets, rings; among which there are luxurious examples made of silver and glass paste; cult objects: encolpion crosses and cross pendants
dating of the findings: end of 9th - beginning of 10th century and 11th century; cross pendants: 10-11. century
characteristics of the finds: the wealth and luxury of jewelry testify to local production, but some specimens come from larger centers with which the local population maintained trade ties; the findings also show that the population buried here had relatively stable economic living conditions
dating of the necropolis: the beginnings of burials at the end of the 9th-beginning 10th century, and the necropolis was in use throughout the 11th century
|