PALEOCHRISTIAN BASILICA OF PLAŠNIK

This early Christian basilica (Ранохристијанска Базилика Плаошник/Ranohristijanska Bazilika Plaošnik) is home to superb mosaics. It is the most important remnant of late antiquity unearthed on the hill of Plaošnik. The discovery was made as part of the large real estate project launched here in 2000. A large tubular structure houses the foundations of what was the seat of the bishopric of Lychnidos, probably founded in the^fifth century. The modern roofing is supposed to reproduce what the elaborate roof of this basilica with its tetraconical (four-leaf) plan looked like. Thanks to an elevated walkway that goes around the foundations, one can admire the mosaics on the floor with floral, animal, human and geometric motifs, including many "swastikas": swastikas were very common decorative elements in Greek, Roman and Byzantine decorations. The most remarkable piece is the baptistery decorated with a mosaic of peacocks drinking water from a sacred inexhaustible source. It is an illustration of the theme of baptism that purifies and nourishes the Christian throughout his life. The commissioners of all these works remain as anonymous as the artists who executed them. Only an inscription in Greek on the north side of the church evokes their memory: "This was done by those whose names are known to God Nearby are the ruins of a "pagan" temple and various buildings from the Roman and Byzantine periods.