Knežine Archaeological Site, Kaštel Štafilić

North of Kaštel Štafilić, in the municipality of Kaštela in Split-Dalmatia County, at the location called Knežine, the remains of a Roman villa rustica can be seen. The site is of interest to those who enjoy open-air archaeology, since part of the ancient architecture can be made out directly on the ground.

The site lies alongside the Javor road, a confirmed ancient route that connected the prehistoric, ancient and medieval settlements on the hills of Mali and Veli Bijać with the port at Resnik, that is, the ancient settlement of Siculi. Among the visible building remains, a cistern built of regularly dressed stone stands out. Near it are also the remains of other associated ancient walls, and the ground is covered with fragments of Roman pottery. The villa dates from the period between the 2nd and 4th centuries.

The Knežine archaeological site is a protected cultural property and is entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-4337, in the category of archaeological heritage.

Photo: Argo Navis, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).