Spila Cave of Nakovana, Nakovanj

Spila Cave is located above the village of Gornja Nakovana, at the far west of Pelješac, in the municipality of Orebić, beneath the Kopinj ridge at 407 m above sea level. It is especially interesting to lovers of archaeology because an Illyrian sanctuary was discovered in it.

Uninterrupted life has been proven at the site, from the Middle Neolithic (Danilo culture), through the Eneolithic (Nakovana culture), up to antiquity. The most important find is the Illyrian sanctuary, in which a great deal of fine Hellenistic tableware from the late 4th to the early 1st century BC was found, among it vessels for sacrifice and ritual feasts. Most of the tableware lay beside a larger stalagmite, which must have been the center of the rites in the cave. The finds show that the sanctuary ceased to exist when the Romans took over power.

The cave is a protected cultural good, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-4482.

Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence.