Crkvine Archaeological Site, Klapavice, Klis

The Crkvine site is located in the village of Klapavice, about two kilometres north-east of Klis, on the southern side of the Klis – Dugopolje expressway. It belongs to the Municipality of Klis in Split-Dalmatia County, and includes remains from late antiquity and the Middle Ages.

The first excavations here were carried out in 1906 by Don Frane Bulić. At that time the north-eastern part of the complex was investigated, and a single-nave early Christian church, a cistern and four medieval graves were uncovered. A revision excavation from April to July 2006 showed that there had in fact been two churches at the site: the northern one, discovered by Bulić, and a southern one with a narthex and an inscribed apse. In the process, 25 graves were also investigated. The finds range in time from the 5th to the 16th century. Experts regard Klapavice as an exceptionally valuable monument complex that depicts life in the Dalmatian hinterland from late antiquity to the late Middle Ages. Visitors travelling between Split and the interior can fit it into a tour of Klis.

The site is a protected cultural property, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-6175.

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).