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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