Murazzo of the western Salona necropolis

Abstract

Rescue Salona exavation in 1986-1987 was also conducted at the western Salonitan necropolis with »murazzo«. This excavation helped the analysis of its architectonic and other components. According to the earlier excavations and scientific findings, it was possible to follow the murazzo (with some breaks) from the site Martinčevo, approximately 150 m to the west from the so-called »Urbs vetus«, across the site »in horto Metrodori« to the site Stačuline 1560 m from the city walls of Salona. The murazzo consists of two parallel walls, each of them adjoining the Roman road. It has a double function: one is the latteral support for the road and the other as a wall of the necropolis. Single hortus walls are made in the same manner as murazzo with the technique of the rustical opus quadratum. The murazzo and these funeral parcels were built at the same time. The »cyclopic wall« is rhythmically interrupted by a few 3-4 m wide communications, through which it is possible to go »in agro« to funeral parcels. It was possible to go to these communications directly from the road through the gates. The most recent exavations noted the remains of 7 such gates. The height of the murazzo from the road side did not allow the visibility of hortus interior so the monuments were facing toward the center of the rectangular areas surrounded by the walls. The unique architectonic conception is obvious although some of the murazzo parts, at different positions, were built at the same time or in short time intervals. The reconstrucion of the Salona-Tragurium road was done at the same time together with the first graves on the necropolis. During the Marcomannic wars, in the second half of the 2nd century, murazzo underwent the first important damage and its massive stones were incorporated into the facade of city walls. According to the analysis of the murazzo structure and cultural-historical circumstances, the construction of the murazzo can be dated in the first two decades of the 1st century.