27 May 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

Tomb of a Roman doctor buried with unique surgical tools unearthed in Hungary

28 April 2023

28 April 2023

Hungarian archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Roman doctor 1st-century man buried with high-quality surgical tools near the city of...

Antikythera underwater excavation digs up new discoveries “huge marble head”

20 June 2022

20 June 2022

The second phase of underwater archaeological research (May 23 to June 15, 2022) on the Antikythera shipwreck resulted in the...

Illegal digs reveal rare Roman-era mass grave in Turkey

28 July 2022

28 July 2022

A total of 27 skeletons were found in a burial pit carved into the rocks in Adıyaman province, an important...

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists identify unknown sites and Serbia’s hidden Bronze Age megastructures

17 November 2023

17 November 2023

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists at University College Dublin identified more than 100 previously unknown sites. Satellite remote...

Man-made Viking-era cave discovered in Iceland Bigger, Older Than Previously Thought

2 June 2022

2 June 2022

Archaeologists from the Archaeological Institute of Iceland have uncovered an extensive system of interconnected structures that are not only much...

2000-year-old glass treasure in Roman shipwreck discovered by an underwater robot in Mediterranean

24 July 2023

24 July 2023

The Italian-French mission recovered a selection of glassware and raw glass blocks from the Roman shipwreck located at a depth...

Rare Prehistoric Animal Carvings Discovered For The First Time In Scotland

31 May 2021

31 May 2021

Animal carvings thousands of years old have been found for the first time in Scotland. The carvings, estimated to be...

A 2,500-year-old Slate Tablet Containing Paleo-Hispanic Alphabet Found

15 June 2024

15 June 2024

Experts analyzing the symbols on a 2,500-year-old tablet recently discovered in Spain have uncovered a mysterious ancient alphabet. According to...

The easternmost Roman aqueduct in Armenia was discovered

19 November 2021

19 November 2021

Archaeologists from the University of Münster and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia have discovered remains...

Deadly 7.7 quakes hit Turkey destroys historical Gaziantep Castle

6 February 2023

6 February 2023

A deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, with tremors felt in the neighboring provinces, has...

A well-preserved comb discovered in a 4th-century rare Alemannic chamber grave in Germany

4 September 2024

4 September 2024

During a rescue excavation in the center of the village of Gerstetten, located in the Heidenheim district of southwestern Germany,...

2,300-year-old Punic tomb complex found during works on car park for staff

26 October 2024

26 October 2024

A 2,300-year-old Punic tomb was discovered during work in a car park near Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, Malta. The...

Pictish ring believed to be more than 1,000-years-old found during Burghead fort dig in Scotland

5 September 2024

5 September 2024

A “remarkable” Pictish ring thought to be more than 1,000 years old has been unearthed by an amateur archaeologist on...

From Destruction to Discovery: Ancient Greek Tombstone Discovered in Libya After Storm ‘Daniel’

2 March 2025

2 March 2025

The Libyan Antiquities Authority has officially confirmed that an ancient artifact uncovered in the torrents caused by Storm “Daniel” in...

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...