St. Martin, Lepuri

Apse foundation

Description

The remains of the church of St. Martin can be seen in a Catholic cemetery by the Benkovac-Knin road, about 15 kilometers from Benkovac. The tombstones there suggest a long existence of this graveyard. The church facade had some elements of the Baroque style which was evidence of a significant restoration done around 1700. The church was built in the Romanesque period on the site of an older, pre-Romanesque church, which is evident from numerous stone fragments with typical pre-Romanesque decoration, excavated around it. It had a rectangular sanctuary, which is a common feature of the Gothic style in Dalmatia.

History

Archaeological excavations reevealed that even the 9th century pre-Romanesque stage of the building isn't the oldest, and that it was, in fact, erected on the foundations of an even older, early Christian church with a round apse that dates back to the 5th or 6th century. An altar partition with an inscribed dedication and side chapels were added to this church in the 9th century. The early Christian church was, as it seems, restored on this very important site (half way from Nin to Knin, below the Roman Asseria) in the period of Christianization of Croatia.