The Cim Early Christian Basilica (built in 5th–6th century AD) consists of the archaeological remains of an

early Christian Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

–

late Roman Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

's Crkvine suburb. The basilica is a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Archaeological discoveries

During its archaeological excavation various other structures were discovered, including tombs and residential buildings. Further archaeological research has determined that the Crkvine site in northwestern

was an ancient settlement, and a number of 5th- to 6th-century artifacts have been found. Large quantities of small surface archeological material has also been discovered at the site: antique tiles,

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...

and

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

. Fragments of stone decorations, such as vines with grapes and wattle, peacocks, fish, fragments of

floral A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

ornaments and the symbol of the cross, were also discovered. Three late antique contemporary buildings were discovered in Crkvine area: the basilica, memorial chapel and a residential building. In the mediaeval period burials were carried out there. The early Christian basilica is positioned east-west and has one nave and the altar. The entrance is facing the west, while the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

apse, the most significant and the holiest part of the Church, is facing the east. Remains of additional buildings are located near the nave of the basilica - one to the north and two to the south – which creates the impression that the Church has three naves. In the west all three parts of the Church are united by the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

(the church hall) which stretches throughout the entire length of the space. Early Christian Basilica Cim has all the elements of the early Christian sacral building:

in the west part of the Church,

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

(temple) in the centre, presbytery (altar area),

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

(baptismal font), as well as diaconicon and prothesis in the south part. A

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

(burial chapel) whose shape, with one nave, resembles the shape of the church is located south of the church. The memorial is connected with the main church area with a wall. The door at the south wall of diaconicon is the only way of communication between “the church for the dead” and “the church for the living”. A great number of tombs and graves have been found around the Church, its interior, and within the memorial, dating from the time of the Church's construction until the

late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

. More significant finds on this site are the fragments of the stone plastics with various ornamentation of which some are the most exceptional samples of early Christian sculpture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the level of fragmentation it is not always easy to determine the origin of these fragments and what their function was. Although there are no reliable historical sources that support the claim that the seat of Diocese of Sarsenterum was in this area at the time, the unusual arrangement of the Early Christian Basilica Cim with presbytery, and memorial, as well as the richness and representative quality of the fragment decorations, suggests that the bishop’s residence might have been here.Anđelić, Tomo, ''Kasnoantička bazilika u Cimu kod Mostara''.(Late antique basilica in Cim near Mostar), Journal of the National Museum, Archaeology, new series, XXIX/1974, Sarajevo, 1976, pp179-244. [cited February 22, 2012]

Commemoration

In 2011

post office issued a stamp with an image displaying the remains of Early Christian Basilica Cim.

References

{{Reflist History of Mostar Buildings and structures in Mostar Architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina Archaeological sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina