The views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MDG-F Programme Culture for Development or implementing agencies.
Town of Jajce – Temple of the God Mithra By Damir Hadžić
The role and significance of the area and town of Jajce are enormous, to grasp this fact some details must be given to wider area of Jajce and common features of this heritage, in other words the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are two elements that are central in the formation of the historical and cultural physiognomy of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it’s a natural isolation, and geographical position between the two great cultural dominants of East and West. These strong influences at times clashed violently, but at times intermingled to generate a third, indigenous stamp. In the town of Jajce, there has been building but also demolition and destruction over past centuries. The town is in the area within the mediaeval walls, which has been in existence from the mediaeval through the Ottoman period to the present day. There are few documents on the town's past, and no major archaeological excavations have been carried out. Our knowledge of the more distant past of the town thus remains fragmentary. Almost all archaeological finds have been accidental, usually in the course of digging the foundations for new buildings. The most ancient traces of human habitation on the urban area of Jajce date from the Eneolithic age (on locality of Varošnice). Throughout the town, there are Bronze Age remains in deep tufa1 cuttings, and also material traces of the later Iron Age. Prehistoric pottery has been found in tufa cuttings by the Museum of the 2nd Session of AVNOJ2. These finds suggest the existence of a prehistoric settlement nearby, the location and chronological context of which have yet to be determined. When the foundations for the Social Centre were being made, shards of prehistoric pottery dating from the late Bronze age (1250-800 BCE) were also found, washed down from higher land. It is not yet known whether there was a prehistoric settlement on the site of the Jajce fortress, but its hilltop position and the pottery washed down to lower levels suggest this as a big possibility. The present extent of research is not sufficient to make it clear whether there was continuity of settlement in the transition from prehistoric times to antiquity. The oldest antique remains date from the third century and later, to the end of the sixth century. Antique bricks were found in Pijavice, opposite the former railway station, and a Mithraic temple below Volukja in the Bare residential area. When the five storey
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Tufa is created by special organisms known as tufa sedimentary generators, and the water in which tufa is created must meet certain conditions. These plant organisms create tufa, i.e. calcium carbonate, from water that contains a high percentage of calcium bicarbonate. There is a great usage of tufa, and much of the town of town Jajce is built on it. 2 Antifascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia
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The views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MDG-F Programme Culture for Development or implementing agencies.
block north of the Banja Luka gatehouse was being built, two late antique tombs and one vaulted sepulchral were found (4th to 6th century)
The Mithraeum, bricks and sepulchre were on the edge of a late antique era settlement in the valley at the confluence of the Pliva and the Vrbas, in the late mediaeval area outside the ramparts, on the plateau between the two town gates. Antique pottery was also found by the present day police station, but this site was outside the settlement of that time.
In the antique era the site of present day Jajce probably had a settlement with a customs post and an observation post for surveillance of the crossing over the Vrbas. The settlement was inhabited not only by the indigenous population but also by the Romanized descendants of the Pannonian tribe of Maezaei (Mezei) and foreigners, among whom were incomers from the eastern provinces of the Empire, whose community is to judge from the Mithraeum and the length of time it was in use was a powerful one. The Romanized inhabitants respected cults, as far as is currently known from monuments to Jupiter Dolichenus and Silvanus (Pan). The surroundings of Jajce are rich in antique monuments, mostly discovered accidentally. Sixteen grain pits or granaries were found on the site of the Social Centre. Based on similar finds elsewhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, these pits were dated to the 4th to 7th century, but the absence of archaeological material means that they cannot be reliably dated. It is known that such grain pits were still in use in the late mediaeval era in the region inhabited by Slav tribes and peoples. On the edge of this site a miniature 14th to 15th century stećak tombstone was found. The early mediaeval history of Jajce is poorly known. It was in the early mediaeval župa or county of Pliva, which is referred to as part of the then Croatian state by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus in his works of De administrando imperio in the mid tenth century. The next reference to Pliva County in historical sources is not until 1366, when the Bosnian ban or ruler Tvrtko bestowed it on the Hrvatinić line, in the person of duke Vukac Hrvatinić, for his services in the defence of the town of Sokol three years early. This action, in 1363, halted the military campaign of the Croat-Hungarian king Ludovic against Bosnia.
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The views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MDG-F Programme Culture for Development or implementing agencies.
UNESCO Tentative Lists and Jajce Expert commission of UNESCO and ICOMOS made in April 2009 a negative evaluation to nomination file of natural and architectural ensemble of Jajce to the WH list. These commissions claim that Jajce is not making any of criteria for inclusion on WH list, reports is comprised form two parts. First part is form documentation presented and second from expert visits to the site. In the documentation presented file is given negative position to the nomination of property, the mark is that “Jajce has a medium regional value“, somewhere better case is a second report from site visit that has gave a comments about necessity of intensive repairs in Jajce, demolition and removal of numerous illegal buildings as well as change of border of nominated area. All these suggestions are representing inputs about better appearance of the town and monuments. Conclusion to these reports is suggestion to the Presidency of BiH to withdraw the nomination of Jajce to the UNESCO World Heritage list3.
Mithraeum in Jajce This antique religious monument is situated on the site known as bare, located 200 meters west from medieval town core of Jajce on left bank of river Piva. The cult of the invincible God of the Sun, Mithras, was speeded by soldiers, slaves and merchants from the Orient, or by soldiers who came into contact with the followers of the cult in the East. As a belief that promised greater social justice and a life after death, it attracted the lowers strata of society, and posed a considerable challenge to the spread of Christianity. The cult was widespread throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire, including that of Dalmatia, within the borders of which most of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina lay (Ä?. Basler, 1972, p. 65). The followers of Mithraism sought as a rule to locate their places of worship in caves, and in the absence of such sites they built small single-celled temples or spelaea; where the terrain permitted, they would excavate the soil to reinforce the impression of a cave, the Jajce site is one such. The spelaeum is hollowed out into the rock, with a floor level below ground level. Nature of the soil, moisture and tufa deposits have partly obscured the plan of the Mithraeum. Temple consisted of an irregular square cell. The walls of the Mithraeum had no foundations, and were made of marl with no mortar binding and left un-plastered. It is assumed that the roof would have been made of brushwood shingles. The west wall, with a carving in the centre, was almost entirely cut from the living rock. The north wall collapsed and the interior is filled with limestone deposits. 3
Press conference of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments 18/05/2009, (Fena news agency)
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The views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MDG-F Programme Culture for Development or implementing agencies.
Part of the threshold was discovered in the north-east corner, not in its original position. It is assumed that the entrance was in the east wall, where a limestone block was found that served as threshold. On the west wall, which is in fact the living limestone rock, there is a largely wellpreserved carved relief. Mithras' right fist holding a knife, the top of a Phrygian cap and Mithras' face, a serpent's head, and the left hand border of the relief have been broken off. The right hand side of the relief has a natural deposit of dark red pigment. The workmanship is fairly crude. The relief is set in Interior of the Mithras Temple a shallow niche, finished in the shape of a gable roof and decorated with palmettos. The image of the god killing a bull occupies almost the entire height of the niche. This is a representation of the Mithraic tauroctony, simple in type, but including all the necessary iconographic symbols: Mithras in Persian garments, with a fluttering cloak. With one knee he is crushing a bull, while seizing him by the muzzle with his left hand and stabbing him in the heart with his right. He is being assisted by a dog, a serpent and a scorpion. There is also a raven, which has brought an order from Ahuramazda. To either side are the dadophorae or torchbearers. In the upper section are the sun (shown without rays) and the moon (without sickle). The remains of the Mithraeum in Jajce were discovered during the construction of a private building. The site was purchased by the Society for the Preservation of Antiquities in Jajce and provided with protection under the supervision of F. Steiner, engineer. At first a wooden fence was erected, and soon after this a protective stone structure was erected, which survives to this day. The Mithraeum in Jajce almost certainly dates from the early fourth century CE (D. Sergejevski, 1937, 16).
Conditions and works on the monument A small amount of works is carried away on this monument; some investigations are carried by D. Sergejevski in 1931 just after the finding and later on there is a protective structure that is built and repaired in 1951. Conditions to the monument are not good; there is an exposure to damp that causes rapid deterioration. The whole site is damp and close to the river, the monument that is
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The views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MDG-F Programme Culture for Development or implementing agencies.
conserved in situ in the protective structure that covering the finding is in the bad condition and in urgent need of repair.
Further works necessary More archaeological investigations are required as well as detailed documentation of the monument with modern recording methods. Monument is in a need of revitalization project and some minor repairs with conservation works. Better display of monument with signage system that leads to monument is necessary, caused by its distant location from the city core as well as its unpleasant appearance of protective building. Exterior landscaping of area with better presentation of findings and historical facts are a must, as well as small display area before entrance that is illustrating and describing archeological findings find at the site (shrine remains, roman coins, fibula, ect.). Jajce as strategically industrial and tourism orientated town needs to improve tourist infrastructure and information campaign to the extent of total coverage of cultural and natural monuments in area of town, improved protection of fortress and mediaeval fortifications is necessary from a lack of maintenance and adverse effects of the weathering. Present day issues in Jajce are from one side rich and high potential of culture tourism core, with outdated system of heritage potential presentation. Like majority of heritage living cities Jajce grows and lives with its heritage, it has a big issue with new inappropriate and illegal building practice. Urban response of the city to the tourism potential in presentation of cultural and natural heritage needs to be improved. Reality is lack of funds and investments in culture sector are present in obvious cause of Mithraic temple, going form outdated and unattractive protective building to general attitude towards relocation of funds in tourist infrastructure. Bibliography: − Truhelka, Ćiro, Royal town of Jajce, Sarajevo, 1904 − Basler, Đ., Architecture of the late antique period in BiH, Sarajevo, 1972 − L. Thalloczy, Povijest Jajca (History of Jajce) Zagreb, 1916. − Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Contributions to the history of Bosnian towns, Sarajevo, 1952 − Mazalić, Đoko, Old town of Jajce, National Museum in Sarajevo, 1952 − Bešlagić, Š. National Liberation War monuments in Jajce and their protection, 1958. − Sergejevski, D, Das Mithraum von Jajce. Journal of the National Museum XLIX, Sarajevo, 1937 − Anđelić, P. Jajce, In: Arheološki leksikon, Sarajevo, 1988 − Ančić, Mladen, Jajce, portrait of a mediaeval town, Sarajevo 1999 − http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2098/ − Strategy for development of town of Jajce, period 2003-2013, municipality of Jajce
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The views expressed in this essay are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MDG-F Programme Culture for Development or implementing agencies.
About Author: Damir HadŞić, born 1976 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, studied at the Faculty of Architecture, Architecture and Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management of Cultural Property at the Sarajevo University, Bratislava and Siena. On Faculty of Architecture in Sarajevo received an architects diploma at Academia Istropolitana Nova in Bratislava, and by the University of Siena master and reported the doctorate. Works as an architect and consultant in the private, public and non-governmental sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Italy, Slovenia and Sweden. Published about 20 papers and over 90 projects in the fields of architecture, restoration and reconstruction of cultural heritage. Held lectures on the theory and practice in the restoration and protection of cultural heritage at numerous conferences and seminars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the world. One of the founders of the non-governmental organization Group for Heritage, the first registered at the state level in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which deals with the themes of reconstruction and restoration of cultural heritage and preservation of cultural and historical values of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Actively involved in projects of post-war reconstruction and restoration of national monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2000.
About the MDG-F Programme: The Programme Culture for Development is a three-year programme funded by the Spanish Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund which is being implemented in partnership of three UN Agencies: UNDP, UNICEF and UNESCO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH, Ministry of Culture and Sports of FBiH, Ministry of Education and Culture of RS, as well as other institutions working in the area of education and culture. The Programme started in January 2009.
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