Cellars of Diocletian's Palace

The Cellars of Diocletian's Palace
Native name Podrumi Dioklecijanove palače (Croatian)
Cellars of Diocletian's palace (2009)
Location	Split, Croatia
Coordinates	43°30′30″N 16°26′24″E / 43.50833°N 16.44000°E / 43.50833; 16.44000
Built	4th century AD
Built by	Diocletian
Architectural style(s)	Roman

Location of The Cellars of Diocletian's Palace in Croatia

The Cellars of Diocletian's Palace, sometimes referred to as the "basement halls", is a set of substructures, located at the southern end of Diocletian's Palace (now the southernmost part of Split's Old Town), that once held up the private apartments of Emperor Diocletian and represent one of the best preserved ancient complexes of their kind in the world.

History

Archeological research on the substructures over the past 70 years has revealed evidence of new structures, predating the palace by two centuries. These early Imperial Period walls are not yet fully understood. There is also an extensive network of water wells (later used in Middle Ages).

During the later Roman empire, the function of the cellars was partly to elevate the Emperor's chambers on the floor above, but they were also the storage area for foodstuffs and wine for the Palace. Actually, a remnant of a large press, which was used in the wine production is still visible, and on display today. Being structurally a faithful replica of the chambers above, they enable a faithful reconstruction of the way the Emperor's chambers may have looked during the first stage of the palace. The surface area of the cellars is about an eighth of the entire palace. The cellars also contained a nymphaeum and a marble table (mensa) from the Emperor's dining room.

In the Early Middle Ages, as refugees made their homes behind the safety of the palace walls, a part of the underground complex was used as a residential area. Remains of this adaptation specific housing conditions during the Middle Ages are seen in the yard (15A). In one of the halls, wine and oil were produced as the remains of an ancient oil and wine press (turnjačica) were found (remaining exhibited in the same spot to this day). Later the cellars were turned into a water storage facility. The old monastery and church of St. Klare, was located above the eastern section of the cellars. It is suggested that the eastern section of the cellars partially collapsed during this time, and resulting in the destruction of the monastery. In time, the cellars were almost forgotten, being filled in with waste material from the upper floors. However awareness of them (in Split at least) seems to have lasted, the old Split name for the substructures is "Grote" and seems the locals came to view them as a place to fear and respect, as popular belief had it they had been the dungeons where the Emperor Diocletian tortured Christians during his Persecutions. However, some more affluent Splinchians who had houses above them sometimes broke through their vaults and redesigned them into their own storerooms and basement spaces.

In the 19th century, work began, to excavate, drain and clear the collapsed sections of the Cellars, by architect and conservationist Vicko Andrić, the first Split and Croatian conservationist. The work continued through 1950s when the basement's western halls were open to the public in 1959, while those of the eastern part, with the completion of extensive restoration and conservation, works only completed and opened to the public in 1996. Today the cellars are accessible through the Bronze Gate, or through a staircase from the Peristyle. The Western part of the basement has been preserved in its entirety and is almost completely accessible for sightseeing, used as an attractive fair and exhibition space. The Eastern part has collapsed, most likely during Middle Age, however, it has since been excavated and a large part is also accessible.

Description

The cellars entrance starts/terminates at the Cardo maximus within the palace, approaching from the peristyle and the Porta Aenea. The massive barrel-vaulted cellars are shaped in the construction of the Palace in a downward-facing position to level the southern, residential part of the Palace with other parts of the Palace. Their spaces have a variety of forms: basilic, central, central – cross, rectangular, etc. The walls served them as the basis of Imperial dwelling buildings above them, and their forms of space probably coincided with the shape of those buildings that disappeared by molding houses and streets of Split in the Middle Ages.

Gallery

The Vestibule leading to the cellars of the Palace.
Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.
Cellars of Diocletian's Palace.

References

^ "Diocletian's palace basement, Split". www.absolute-croatia.com.
^ "Split – The Substructures". visitsplit.com.
^ "Izmješteni postav – Muzej Grada Splita".
^ "Sites in Split: The Cellars of Diocletian's Palace". Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
^ "Diocletian's Palace". The Megalithic Portal.
"Diocletian's Cellars | Split, Croatia Shopping". www.lonelyplanet.com.

External links

Zlatna vrata u Splitu – putovnica.net (accessed 23 June 2019.) (in Croatian)
Zlatna vrata – split.hr Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 23 June 2019.) (in Croatian)
Zlatna vrata – visitsplit.com (accessed 23 June 2019.) (in Croatian)

v t e Split, Croatia
Geography	Kozjak Mountain Marjan, Split Mosor Mountain Sustipan Jadro River Split Channel Split Gates Dalmatia Split-Dalmatia County
History	Timeline 1979 Mediterranean Games
Landmarks	Bronze Gate (Diocletian's Palace) Golden Gate (Porta septemtrionalis) Iron Gate (Porta Occidentalis) Silver Gate (Porta Orientalis) Cathedral of Saint Domnius Church of Our Lady of the Belfry Croatian National Theatre Diocletian's Palace Diocletianus Aqueduct St. Martin's Church Gallery of Fine Arts Ivan Meštrović Gallery Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments Cellars of Diocletian's Palace Split Archaeological Museum The Vestibule
Sports venues	Arena Gripe Spaladium Arena Stadion Poljud Stadion Park Mladeži
Sports clubs	HNK Hajduk Split HVK Gusar KK Dalvin KK Split MNK Split RK Nada RNK Split ŽNK Hajduk ŽNK Split
Education	University of Split
Transportation	Port of Split Split Airport Split Main Train Station Split Suburban Railway
People	List
Administrative divisions	Bačvice Blatine-Škrape Bol Brda Grad Gripe Kman Kocunar Lokve Lovret Lučac-Manuš Mejaši Meje Mertojak Neslanovac Plokite Pujanke Ravne njive Sirobuja Skalice Split 3 (Smrdečac and Pisano Kame) Sućidar Šine Spinut Trstenik Veli Varoš Visoka Žnjan

v t e World Heritage Sites in Croatia
Cathedral of St. James, Šibenik Dubrovnik Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica, Poreč Plitvice Lakes Split with the Palace of Diocletian Stari Grad Plain Stećak Cista Velika Dubravka Trogir Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th centuries Šibenik Zadar Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe Northern Velebit National Park Paklenica		Flag of Croatia
with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia with Italy and Montenegro with Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine

v t e Landmarks in Dalmatia
Zadar	St. Donatus' Zadar Cathedral Holy Cross' St. Nicholas Paklenica National Park	Coat of arms of Dalmatia
Šibenik-Knin	Šibenik Cathedral Kornati National Park Krka National Park
Split-Dalmatia	Split Cathedral Trogir Cathedral Holy Salvation's Diocletian's Palace Kamerlengo
Dubrovnik-Neretva	Dubrovnik Cathedral Mljet National Park
Islands	Hvar Cathedral Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Lastovo Stari Grad Plain

Categories:

Misplaced Pages