Sights to see, Places to visit / Znamenitosti za vidjeti, mjesta za posjetiti (Mogorjelo)

Last month when I took you to this little city (here) in Herzegovina, I told you that it was actually founded by the ancient Romans. Didn't I also mention that there are interesting ruins  and archeological sights near by? I'm pretty sure I did! Today I'm taking you to one of them. Welcome to Mogorjelo!

Prošlog mjeseca kada sam vas povela u ovaj mali grad u Hercegivini (ovdje), rekla sam vam da su ga zapravo osnovali stari Rimljani.  Zar nisam također i spomenula da u blizini ima zanimljivih ruševina i arheoloških spomenika? Naravno da jesam! Danas vas vodim na jedno takvo mjesto. Dobrodošli u Mogorjelo!

As it happens, we decided to make a stop here almost accidentally. We had some things to take care of in vicinity and when we were done my husband in a spur of the moment decided we should see this place. As soon as I step foot here I was enchanted.  I literally felt like I stepped centuries back in time.  This location was so beautiful; it left me speechless for a few moments. To be quite frank, I had no idea what exactly this place was. However, this actually made this whole experience even more interesting because it started an interesting debate between me and my husband. Obviously, you can tell right away that these ruins are ancient Roman in origin but what were they exactly? Our options were divided for once.

Zapravo smo ovdje stali sasvim slučajno, morali smo nešto obaviti u blizini i jesmo, kad je odjednom mome mužu palo na pamet da bi trebalo vidjeti ovo mjesto. Čim sam tu stupila nogom bila sam očarana. Doslovno sam se osjećala kao da sam zakoračila stoljećima natrag u vremenu. Mjesto je toliko lijepo da sam par trenutaka bila doslovno bez riječi. Da budem posve iskrena, nisam imala pojma što je točno ovo mjesto bilo.  No, zbog toga mi je cijelo iskustvo bilo i zanimljivije jer je to izazvalo zanimljivo debatu između mene i muža.  Očito je odmah vidljivo da su u pitanju ruševine iz rimskog perioda, ali ruševine čega? Naša mišljenja su ovaj put bila podijeljena.

I'm not sure have I ever mentioned this before, but both of us are history lovers. In addition, both of us are really interested in both modern and ancient architecture. Not surprisingly, we found this archaeological site immensely interesting. As we were walking and soaking the sun on that gloriously sunny day, we started to examine it. ‘This was a canal’, we both agreed. ‘This was a wealth and these chambers served as’.....All of a sudden, we came to a disagreement. I said that the chambers were obviously made for servants and farm worker meaning that this archaeological site was quite clearly villa rustica. He said I was wrong, that the chambers we were examined were made for soldiers. He was sure this place belonged to ancient Roman military. He argued his case and I argued mine. He was sure that it was a military camp or fortes and I was sure that it was a villa rustica.  Who was right?

Nisam sigurna jesam li ovo prije spomenula, ali i ja i muž volimo povijest, a uz to zanima nas jako i arhitektura, kako moderna tako i drevna. Nije stoga nikakvo iznenađenje da nam je ovo arheološko nalazište bilo veoma zanimljivo. Dok smo hodali i upijali sunce toga divno sunčanoga dana, počeli smo ga proučavati...Ovo je bio kanal , složili smo se, a ovo je bio bunar....To su bile sobe za...odjednom su se naša mišljenja razišla. Ja sam rekla da su sobe očito pravljenje za poslugu i za zemljoradnike pa da se radi o rimskoj ladanjskoj vili, za koju se u hrvatskom ispravno rabi i latinski naziv villa rustica. On je rekao da sam u krivu i da je očito da su te sobe rađene za vojnike. Bio je siguran da je ovo mjesto pripadala rimskoj vojsci. On je zagovarao svoje argumente, a ja svoje. Bio je siguran da se radi o vojnoj utvrdi ili kampu, a ja sam bila sigurna da se radi o ladanjskoj vili. Tko je bio u pravu?

Who was right? Well, to my great surprise I discovered we were both right. After we returned home and I did some research, I discovered that Mogorjelo was both. What are the odds? You may be wondering how this is possible, but don't worry, I will explain everything. You see, originally this really was villa rustica, but after it was damaged by a fire, it was turned into a Roman military camp and fortress.  Isn't that fascinating?

Tko je bio u pravu? Na moje veliko iznenađenje, ispalo je da smo oboje u pravu. Nakon što smo se vratili kući i nakon što sam malo istraživala, otkrila sam da je Mogorjelo bilo i jedno i drugo. Kakve su šanse za to? Možete se pitati kako je to moguće, ali bez brige, sve ću objasniti. Vidite, u nastanku ovo je doista bila villa rustica, ali nakon što je oštećena u požaru, pretvorena je u rimsku vojnu utvrdu i kamp. Zar to nije zanimljivo?

So, now you know. Mogorjelo is an unique archaeological monument, a well preserved ancient Roman villa rustica dating back to the first century. If you're not familiar with this term villa rustica, I will explain. It basically means an ancient Roman house that is set in the countryside. Besides being the home to whatever wealthy Roman family owned it, villa rustica was also a farm managing centre. Meaning it was also used to store agricultural tools and goods, live stock, farm animals and so on. It was also a place where the workers on the farm lived but separately from the landowning family.  Often in English, the term villa rustica is mistakenly used to denote any kind of Roman villa i.e an ancient roman home.  There are clearly significant differences between urban and country ancient Roman homes because as I have explained, the country houses had additional agricultural management purpose.

Sada znate. Mogorjelo je jedinstveni arheološki spomenik, dobro očuvana rimska ladanjska vila koja potječe iz prvog stoljeća. Između gradskih i ladanjskih staro rimskih vila postoje znatne razlike, zato jer su ladanjske vile osim što su bile dom nekoj bogatoj obitelji, također i bile mjesta na kojima se upravljalo određenim zemljištem pa su stoga tu živjeli radnici koji su obrađivali zemlju, te su se tu držali poljoprivredni proizvodi i alati, a naravno i pripadajuće domaće životinje i blago. 

It is assumed that this villa rustica was burned down in a fire in the fourth century. Whether this fire was accidental or not, it is not known. What we do know for sure is that on its foundation, a Roman fortress was build. Its dimensions were 102 x 83 meters. In the middle of the fortress there was a two store palace where the owner lived.  Most of the elements from the first century villa rustica were preserved (furnace for example) and incorporated into the structure of the fortress. At end of the fourth century, this fortress was taken and partly destroyed by a nomadic Goth tribe. In the fifth century, two early Christian churches were constructed here using the fortress wall as its foundation. As far as I know, these were not preserved. During the middle ages, dead used to be buried on this location (I'm assuming it had something to do with the vicinity of those early churches). 

Pretpostavlja se da je ova ladanjska vila izgorjela u požaru u četvrtom stoljeću. Je li taj požar bio namjeran ili slučajan, nije nam znano. Ono što je poznato je da su na njenim temeljima, Rimljani izgradili svoju utvrdu. Njene su dimenzije bile 102 puta 83 metra, a u sredini se nalazila palača na dva kata gdje je živio vlasnik. Većina elemenata iz ladanjske vile (npr. peć) je sačuvana i uklopljena u strukturu utvrde. Na kraju četvrtog stoljeća, nomadsko pleme Gota je osvojilo i djelomično uništilo utvrdu. U petom stoljeću, tu su sagrađene dvije rane kršćanske crkve koje su se u izgradnji koristile   zidom utvrde kao osloncem. Koliko mi je poznato, iste nisu sačuvane. Tijekom srednjem vijeka na ovom su se lokalitetu vršili ukopi pokojnika (pretpostavljam zbog blizine tih ranih crkvi).

To understand the significance of Mogorjelo, we must take into account its vicinity to Narona. As I have explained, Mogorjelo is located in the vicinity of a charming little town Čapljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is quite close to the border with Croatia. Narona was founded in the fourth century B.C by the ancient Greeks and for centuries it had been a very important city. Originally an ancient Greek town, it became not only an ancient Roman city, but also a Roman municipality and a colony (conventus civium Romanorum, Colonia Iulia Narona) with all its entitled rights. Narona is situated in present day Croatia, in village Vid near Metković city. It is possible to assume that this fortress was build to protect that profoundly important town.

Kako bismo razumjeli značaj Mogorjela, moralo uzeti u obzir njenu blizinu Naroni. Kao što sam objasnila Mogorjelo se nalazi blizu dražesnog gradića Čapljine u Bosni i Hercegovini i blizu je granice s Hrvatskom. Naronu su u četvrtom stoljeću prije Krista osnovali stari Grci, a kasnije je postala ne samo rimski grad, već i općina i kolonija (conventus civium Romanorum, Colonia Iulia Narona)  s svim pripadajućim pravima. Narona je smještena u današnjoj Hrvatskoj, u selu Vid blizu Metkovića. Moguće je pretpostaviti da je ova tvrđava izgrađena kako bi štitila taj veoma znajačan grad.

Now, when I look back at our debate, I see both of our instincts were right. I was right to assume this could have been villa rustica. Little details, for example hand carved stones decorated with wine leaves lead me to believe it was so. In my native Dalmatia, I saw many such decorations. Vinegars still surround this area. The agricultural potential is clearly visible if you look around. There is even a riding club right next to this site, probably where actual stables were in the actual Roman times. If you want, you can rent a horse and go for a ride. They even have ponies for children, but I will speak about that some other time. Now, I will just make an observation. It is possible that two people can see a part of the same truth and both be partially correct. Wouldn't it be better if we were all open minded and willing to admit that our experience can give us only a glimpse of truth? There is always a story within a story.

Sada, kad se prisjetim naša debate, vidim da smo oboje imali dobre instinkte. Dobro sam pretpostavila da bi ovo mogla biti villa rustica. Mali detalji, kao ručno klesani  ukrasi u kamenu u obliku vinove loze su me naveli na taj zaključak. U svojoj rodnoj Dalmaciji vidjela sam puno takvih ukrasa iz rimskog razdoblja. Vinogradi još okružuju ovaj prostor. Poljoprivredne mogućnosti su očite. Postoji čak i jahački klub odmah pored, vjerojatno  se staje nalaze baš na istom mjestu kao i u vrijeme starih Rimljana. Ukoliko želite, možete iznajmiti konja za jahanje, a imaju i ponije za djecu, ali za tome više drugi put. Sada bih samo još nešto primijetila. Moguće je da dvoje ljudi vidi dio iste istine i da oboje budu djelomično u pravu. Zar ne bi bilo bolje da smo svi otvoreniji i spremniji prihvatiti kako nam naše iskustvo pokazuje samo dio istine? Uvijek postoji priča unutar priče.

For me it is always a very humbling feeling visiting any historical sight. When you see structures that have stood the test of time for so long, it makes you wonder whether as society we are as advanced as we would like to be. It is remarkable how little things really change with time. Every time period has its challenges, its advantages and disadvantages.

Posjećivanje bilo kojeg povijesnog mjesta može nam pomoći staviti stvari u pravu perspektivu. Kada vidite građevine koje su izdržale test vremena, onda se zapitate koliko smo kao društvo zapravo napredni i jesmo li napredni kao što to volimo misliti. Nevjerojatno je kako se stvari malo mijenjaju s vremenom. Svaki vremenski period ima svoje izazove, prednosti i nedostatke. 

So many stories, so much history...all of these can be found in Mogorjelo. First a home to a Roman land owning family and both a place of work and a home for servants and land workers. What were they thoughts? How was their life? Probably it was similar to ours. They fell in love, got married, tried to make a living and raise a family.....so many people lived here in centuries to come: servants, nobleman, soldiers, priests and even nomad Goths (for a short time). Finally, during the middle ages it was the last resting place for many. What it is like today? It is a very serene place but at the same time very fascinating. It is astonishing how present all of this history really is. Even without knowing all the historical information (I chose to read about it after my visit), I could really sense the history of this place.

Toliko priča, toliko priča se može pronaći u Mogorjelu. Prvo dom rimskim zemljoposjednicima i dom i radno mjesto njihovim slugama i zemljoradnicima. O čemu li su oni razmišljali? Kakav je bio njihov život? Vjerojatno sličan našem. Zaljubljivali su se, ženili, pokušavali preživjeti i othraniti obitelj....toliko je ljudi tu živjelo u kasnijim stoljećima. Sluge, plemići, vojnici, svećenici pa čak i nomatski Goti (kratko vrijeme). Konačno, tijekom srednjeg vijeka to je bilo zadnje počivalište mnogima. Kakvo je danas? Jako smirene atmosfere, ali u istovremeno jako zanimljivo. Zadivljujuće je u kojoj je mjeri sva ta povijest prisutna. Čak i bez da sam znala povijesne podatke (o kojima sam odabrala čitati kasnije), mogla sam osjetiti povijest ovog mjesta.

That would be all. It has been a while since my last Sights To See, Places To Visit feature.  This time I decided to recommend visiting Mogorjelo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you have been reading closely, you know why. If you haven't, you can always come back when you have more time.... Or even better, don't take my word for it but visit this place and see it with your own eyes....

To bi bilo sve. Prošlo je dosta od moje zadnje Znamenitosti za vidjeti, Mjesta za posjetiti rubrike. Ovaj put sam vam preporučila Mogorjelo u Bosni i Herzegovini. Ukoliko ste pažljivo čitati, znati ćete zašto.  Ako niste,  možete se uvijek vratiti kada budete imali više vremena...ili još bolje posjetite ovo mjesto i vidite sve svojim očima, ne vjerujte meni na riječ.....