Diocletian's Palace Research Articles

Рельефные плиты из баптистерия в Сплите: проблемы изучения

The baptistery of the city of Split on the eastern coast of the Adriatic in the IX-XI centuries was built in the small temple of the Diocletian's palace, and in the XIII century a font of 12 marble slabs appeared in it, six of which are covered with carvings; the rest of the plates are the spolias of antique sarcophagi and their reliefs are cut out. As a result of many years of research of the monument, all scientists agree that the plates with carvings were taken from the altar barrier of either the Split cathedral of St. Domnius (the former mausoleum of Diocletian), or the church of St. Peter and Moses in Solin. Versions of the identification of the figures on the slab with the image of the ruler on the throne, the figure standing next to and the figure lying below make up two large groups: the sitting figure is either Christ or a some king. Most researchers are inclined to two options: Croatian king Peter Kreshimir IV (1058-1074) or king Dimitar Zvonimir (1076-1089). The details of the subsequent existence of the monument are very interesting: in the hands of the standing figure there was previously an object, most likely a scroll, subsequently removed, and the inscription on the upper field of the slab was erased. In addition, the historical circumstances of the epoch are analyzed, including the weakening of Byzantine influence in the region in the XI century with the strengthening of western influence, which led to liturgical changes reflected in the architecture. The stylistic features of the monument make it possible to attract a number of regional analogies.

RAC/TRAC 2022 in Diocletian's Palace: A Pledge for Theoretical Approaches to Roman Archaeology in Croatia

The sixth volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal marks the publication of the first Special Collection and the inaugural TRAJ book reviews, and highlights the hosting of TRAC in South-Eastern Europe for the first time. The guest editors of this volume discuss the significance of TRAC coming to Croatia, the development of Roman archaeology in the region, and the use of a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a conference venue.

The restoration of the Roman water supply system in 1880 for the water supply to Split

Abstract The paper describes the development of the Urban Water Supply System (UWSS) for Split (Croatia) in the second half of the 19th century. The selected concept of the water supply system was entirely based on the system of Emperor Diocletian's Palace from 305 AD, which has not been in operation since the 7th century. The research is based on the analysis of historical data and the actual state of the water supply system of Split. The study provides a clearer insight into the process of choosing the optimum concept of water supply system, the operational characteristics of Diocletian's system and the restored UWSS. The sustainability of both the Roman UWSS and the 1880 system, which has a significant part of the aqueduct still in use today, have been confirmed. It is an example of a zero-carbon water supply system running entirely on renewable energy: gravity.

Experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of the ancient Protiron monument model

SummaryThroughout history, dry‐stone masonry structures have been strengthened with different types of metal connectors in order to increase their resistance which enabled their survival, especially in the seismically active area. One such example is the ancient Protiron monument placed in the Peristyle square of the Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia. The Protiron was built at the turn of the 3rd century as a stone masonry structure with dowels embedded between its base, columns, capitals and broad gable. The stone blocks in the broad gable were connected by metal clamps during restoration at the beginning of the 20th century. In order to study the seismic performance of the strengthened stone masonry structures, an experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of a physical model of the Protiron was performed on the shaking table. The model was designed as a true replica model in a length scale of 1:4 and exposed to representative earthquake with increasing intensities up to collapse. The tests provided a clear insight into system behaviour, damage mechanism and failure under intensive seismic load, especially into the efficiency of connecting elements, which had a special role in increasing seismic resistance and protection of the structure from collapse. Additionally, this experiment provided valuable data for verification and calibration of numerical models for strengthened stone masonry structures.

History and Conservation of Sphinxes in Diocletian's Palace in Split (Croatia)

In the beginning of the 20th century thirteen Egyptians sculptures have been found In Diocletian's Palace (Split, Croatia) but none of them was intact. In the paper will be discussed the origin and the meaning of the Sphinx, their discovery during the conservation works in 1930-ties and 1960-ties. A special part is going to be given to the conservation work of the Sphinx at the peristyle in the last few years conducted by the Croatian Conservation Institute in Split (Croatia).

Was Diocletian's Palace Ever Used as an Imperial Residence?

Was Diocletian's Palace Ever Used as an Imperial Residence?

Red peristile: Between social provocation, artistic act, urban myth, and split's jealousy

This article analyses the action of painting Split's Peristile in red color, which happened in January 1968. The Peristile is in the central square of the well known Roman Diocletian's Palace, around which the modern town of Split has formed. In the first part of the article, authors theoretically discuss the influence of culture, nation and ideology on social and spiritual reality. As far as culture is concerned, two components are emphasized. The first one consists of norms, values, customs, beliefs and behaviors, and the second one refers to the individual in interaction with traditional elements of culture. When speaking about nation, authors stress the influence of politics, because any theoretical definition of the nation legitimizes one sort of political demand, and de-legitimizes others. The notion of ideology and its historical development in the West is more extensively discussed, with emphasis on Mannheim's differentiation of particular and total notion of ideology. Having in mind the town in general, authors discuss it as a place of co-existence of architecture, habits and people. Cultural civilizational characteristics of modern cities as well as the state of mind in Split in 1968 are elaborated. After a theoretical introduction, and on the basis of a great number of resources, the process of Peristile painting is presented in detail. The manner in which this artistic performance was carried out is extensively described. This part of the article is supplemented with biographies of artists who directly or indirectly participated in the mentioned performance. Among other things, it turned out that protagonists still cannot agree as to who constituted a group called 'The Red Peristile Group'. There are also disagreements about the motifs for painting the Peristile red. Some of them considered it was a pure artistic act and others - an ideological and political action. References are made to the sharply opposed reactions of artist, politicians, and intellectuals towards the shocking act. Some of them have qualified it as an act of vandalism, a joke of political officials, youth folly, and even an occult act under the influence of drugs. Conclusion can be drawn that the action 'The Red Peristile' was an important artistic performance which has disturbed a lethargical state of mind in Split of that time.

Preliminary data for development of the engineering geological map of the city of Split (Croatia)

The city of Split has been developing continuously since the construction of the Diocletian Palace (287–305) to the present time. Detailed engineering geological investigations, with the recorded documents, have been performed since 1970. Further development and expansion of the city require an urban engineering geological map to be developed as a main prerequisite for the geotechnical and seismic zonation. In this paper a review of engineering geological conditions at the area of Split City (cca 25 km2) is given. Those conditions are interpreted on the basis of available data from geotechnical reports (about stratigraphical units, their lithological composition and physical and mechanical properties) and limited field survey. Zones with different ground conditions regarding rock properties are delineated in the form of lithological complex, engineering geological mapping units for medium-scale maps. The area of the city of Split, built of foraminifera limestones (E1,2), clayey glauconitic limestones ( $$ E_{2}^{1,2} $$ ), and flysch sediments (E2,3), is divided into five lithological complexes, which presents unique combination of individual lithological type for which it is possible to indicate general behavior of the whole. The paper also provides short review of other environmental conditions (active geomorphological processes, hydrological and hydrogeological conditions, as well as seismic conditions), which are intended as a guide to the sort of environmental data that could be collected by more detailed studies during the course of the zoning process.

Patron Saints of the Medieval Gates in Diocletian's Palace

Patron Saints of the Medieval Gates in Diocletian's Palace

The date of foundation and original function of Diocletian's Palace at Split

The date of foundation and original function of Diocletian's Palace at Split

The Architectural Ornament of Diocletian's Palace at Split. By Sheila McNally.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsThe Architectural Ornament of Diocletian's Palace at Split. By Sheila McNally.Thomas F. C. BlaggThomas F. C. Blagg Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 104, Number 1January 2000 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Views: 1Total views on this site Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/506816 Views: 1Total views on this site Copyright © 2000 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The monopteroi in the west precinct of Diocletian's palace at Split

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Le ricerche nel Palazzo di Diocleziano a Split negli ultimi 30 anni (1964-1994)

We asked Art Historian T. Marasović and Architect J. Marasović, now professors at the Universities of Split and Zagreb, to gather the main results of works done in Diocletian's Palace since 1964, while they were in charge at the Town Planning of Dalmatia and then at the Research Center for Mediterranean Architectural Heritage, founded in Split by their Universities. In a first part, they give an account of the documentation and especially recall of the general plan drawn at a 1 :200 scale under the direction of J. Marasović. A second part examines for each sector the progress of researches in the Palace, culminating with several campaigns of excavations that took place in southeastern sector, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota (see the account of Sh. McNally in this same Journal). They also mention the exploration of the perimeter, mainly the two towers to the North-East and North-West (the northwestern one has been renovated and hosts the Research Center for Mediterranean Architectural Heritage), and the discovery of a complex system of water canalizations, where a great amount of ceramics from different periods has been found. In a third part, they briefly describe new restaurations : - consolidation of the Imperial Appartments in southeastern sector, that was required for works to go on ; - renovation of southeastern tower, almost entirely preserved, and of the neighbouring part of southern front ; - valorization of the foundations which should be those of the ""Venus Temple"", located at ground level in the ex-Palazzo Cipci on Peristyle's western side ; - complete restauration of Town Museum, allowing to show remains of northwestern complex of the Palace ; - partial restauration of northwestern tower, because of a lack of information concerning upper levels. Finally, the bibliography is listing most of the articles and books published since 30 years (with some complements by S. McNally and N. Duval) [N.D. transl. by Pascale Chevalier].

Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Roman Emperor. By J. J. Wilkes.

<i>Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Roman Emperor</i>. By J. J. Wilkes.

Le Corbusier's Epiphany on Mount Athos

(1990). Le Corbusier's Epiphany on Mount Athos. Journal of Architectural Education: Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 27-36.

Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Emperor. By J. J. Wilkes.

<i>Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Emperor</i>. By J. J. Wilkes.

Diocletian's Palace. Part 1. Report on Joint Excavations in Southeast Quarter. By J. and T. Marasović, S. McNally and J. J. Wilkes. Part 2. American-Yugoslav Joint Excavations. By S. McNally and J. and T. Marasović. 32 × 24 cm. Pp. xii + 50 + 26 pls. + 29 figs.; xii + 68 + 33 pls. + 60 figs. Split: Urbanistički

Diocletian's Palace. Part 1. Report on Joint Excavations in Southeast Quarter. By J. and T. Marasović, S. McNally and J. J. Wilkes. Part 2. <i>American-Yugoslav Joint Excavations</i>. By S. McNally and J. and T. Marasović. 32 × 24 cm. Pp. xii + 50 + 26 pls. + 29 figs.; xii + 68 + 33 pls. + 60 figs. Split: Urbanistički

Split at the Critical Point: Diocletian's Palace, Excavation vs. Conservation

Split at the Critical Point: Diocletian's Palace, Excavation vs. Conservation

Split at the Critical Point: Diocletian's Palace, Excavation vs. Conservation

Split at the Critical Point: Diocletian's Palace, Excavation vs. Conservation

Diocletian's Palace. Report on Joint Excavations, vol 3. (Under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. and the Yugoslav Institute of Technical Cooperation, Belgrade). 32 × 24 cm. Pp. vii + 146 + numerous pls. and figs. Split: 1979. $15.00.

Diocletian's Palace. Report on Joint Excavations, vol 3. (Under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. and the Yugoslav Institute of Technical Cooperation, Belgrade). 32 × 24 cm. Pp. vii + 146 + numerous pls. and figs. Split: 1979. $15.00. - Volume 61 Issue 2