4 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Polish-Croatian team discovered Ancient Roman Temple under a Croatian 18th Century church

Under an 18th-century church, the Church of St. Daniel in Danilo near Sibenik, Croatia, the foundations of an ancient Roman temple have been found.

Sibenik is the location of the former Roman city of Ridit, though the secret of the ancient temple was previously unknown.

Finding the temple made use of LIDAR aerial scanning technology.  Using LIDAR techniques, the Polish-Croatian team found the frame of the temple’s entrance, which is likely all that remains of an old colonnade. According to archaeologists, the temple once measured 66 feet by 33 feet and had walls that were significantly larger than they are now.

Discovering team, in addition to the church, the team also found a nearby cemetery, which is said to have been in use between the 9th and 15th Centuries.

Georadar survey around the church in Danilo, under which relics of the Roman sacral building were discovered. Photo: O. Orłowska
Georadar survey around the church in Danilo, under which relics of the Roman sacral building were discovered. Photo: O. Orłowska

Polish research leader, Professor Fabian Welc of the Institute of Archaeology of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw said that the temple was most likely part of a larger forum, which would have once been the location of several important public buildings, including courts and offices. He said, “The data we have collected indicate that under today’s church and the adjacent cemetery, there are relics of a temple, which was part of the forum, the most important part of a Roman city.”

He added that the forum was the centre of the social and economic life of the inhabitants of every Roman municipium (city). This forum was located at the intersection of the main communication arteries and was also the central point in the city.

Reconstruction of a building with a courtyard made by Professor Fabian Welc.

According to scientists, the church was not the only structure built on the ruins of the former temple. The nearby cemetery, which operated from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries, was also partially within its original range. Some medieval graves were dug directly into Roman bath relics, as was the adjacent massive building with a central courtyard and a portico surrounded by numerous rooms.

Professor Welc said: “This means that the extensive medieval cemetery was founded directly on the relics of Roman buildings.”

A fragment of an ornamented monumental beaming of the Roman temple was unearthed in the 1950s in the medieval cemetery near the church in Danilo. Photo: Fabian Welc
A fragment of an ornamented monumental beaming of the Roman temple was unearthed in the 1950s in the medieval cemetery near the church in Danilo. Photo: Fabian Welc

Archaeological research has been undertaken in Danilo for the last 70 years. The joint Polish-Croatian project started in 2019. It is carried out by researchers from the Institute of Archeology of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, the Institute of Archaeology in Zagreb, and the Šibenik City Museum.

PAP

Cover Photo: Fabian Welc

Related Articles

Early humans appreciated geometry and symmetry and were intentionally crafting spherical shapes 1.4 million years ago, according to a new study

7 September 2023

7 September 2023

An examination of 150 round, baseball-sized stones discovered at a site where early humans lived 1.4 million years ago shows...

40.000-Year-Old Mammoth Bones Discovered in a Wine Cellar in Austria

25 May 2024

25 May 2024

A winemaker has discovered mammoth bones up to 30,000 to 40,000 years old in a wine cellar in Lower Austria. ...

Archaeologists unearthed fresh evidence that bedbugs came to Britain with the Romans

3 February 2024

3 February 2024

Archaeologists working the Roman garrison site of Vindolanda in Northumberland, south of Hadrian’s Wall, have discovered new proof that the...

After 1,300 years, water to again flow from monumental fountain in the City of Gladiators in Turkey

30 December 2022

30 December 2022

The approximately 2,000-year-old monumental fountain in the ancient city of Kibyra in Golhisar, Burdur in southwestern Turkey will start flowing...

Researchers reveal the 4,500-year-old network of funerary avenues in Arabian Peninsula

15 January 2022

15 January 2022

Archaeologists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) have determined that people living in ancient northwest Arabia built long-distance “funerary...

Mystery of the 1,700-year-old Mosaic Solved: The Medallion in the Mosaic uncovered to be the Symbol of a Roman Military Unit

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

The mystery of the 1,700-year-old mosaic, which was found during excavations in Amasya province in northern Turkey 11 years ago...

Columns in Lagina Hecate Sanctuary Rise Again

19 February 2021

19 February 2021

Lagina Hecate Sanctuary is located in Yatağan district of Muğla. It is an important sacred area belonging to the Carians...

A Roman Votive Monument Discovered During Excavations at the Roman Open-Air Museum Hechingen-Stein

1 November 2024

1 November 2024

During recent excavations by the State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council and the Association for...

A 1,300-year-old necklace is the ‘richest of its type ever uncovered in Britain’

6 December 2022

6 December 2022

Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) archaeologists have found a “once-in-a-lifetime” 1,300-year-old gold and gemstone necklace dating back to 630-670 AD...

Medieval double grave discovered with majestic objects inside the circular ditch

22 August 2022

22 August 2022

An early medieval double grave was discovered in Kirchheim am Neckar Friedrichstrasse, southern Germany, during excavations supervised by the State...

Iron Age stone altar and gold-plated ceremonial sword discovered in Kazakhstan

14 August 2021

14 August 2021

A stone altar and a gold-plated ceremonial sword used in the early Iron Age were discovered during excavations along the...

Royal Shipwreck From 17th century Is discovered Off the Coast of England

11 June 2022

11 June 2022

Off the coast of England, a royal shipwreck has been unearthed. The Gloucester, one of the most renowned ships of...

Researchers discover America’s oldest mine

23 May 2022

23 May 2022

Archaeological digs headed by Wyoming’s state archaeologist and including University of Wyoming experts have revealed that people began producing red...

First direct evidence of drug use as part of Bronze Age ritual ceremonies in Europe

6 April 2023

6 April 2023

An analysis of human hair strands recovered from a burial site in Menorca, Spain, reveals that ancient human civilizations used...

A new Archaeological Site has been Discovered in Oman

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

Oman‘s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism recently discovered an ancient site in the town of Al Khobar, Sumail Province, Al...