During February and in the first half of March, the archeological department of the Old Town of Bar carried out systematic archeological excavations of a part of the so-called episcopal complex, particularly the Archbishop’s palace, in order to define the space on the east side of this building built in the 14th century (buildings 194 C and D).
Archaeological excavations of the area 194 C and D brought new results in terms of the genesis of this complex through the centuries. The latest layers belong to the end of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century, when room 194 C was used as a stable which was entered through a large portal on the south side. From the finds, in this layer, almost all types of ceramics characteristic of the Ottoman era in Bar were found, from painted ceramics of Eastern and South Italian origin, to rough kitchen pots and other types of pottery made in the Balkans, but also in the city itself. Also, a certain amount of metal, some glass, and other objects were found. After researching the Turkish period, the Venetian layers were reached. Based on a very large number of indicators (demolition, charred wood remains, burnt earth), we concluded that room 194 C was destroyed in the period around 1570. Initially, it was the ground floor of a residential building reached by stairs from the street that led between the two palaces, ‘Princes’ and the so-called ‘Archbishopric’. The floor of this ‘tavern’ was also paved with slab stones, but it was not as well preserved as the one from the later period. There was no material older than the 16th century, so we can confidently say that this part of the palace complex was created then. In the northern part, in room 194 D, a large concentration of demolition layers was excavated, most likely due to a very strong earthquake, because in the layers of demolition from the end of the 16th century we find finished hewn stone and second-rate architectural decoration. This would suggest that in the Turkish period, while occupation continued in this same place, the demolished building from the time of Venice was leveled, serving as the basis of the floor.
We still do not have exact archeological data on whether this residential building belonged to the archbishop. The assumption, explained by the finding of a fragment of the inscription in the rebuilt wall of this building – where the rector’s curia is mentioned (“CURIA RECTORI DOMINIS…”), that the church was later turned into the archbishop’s residence is generally accepted. However, excavations in 1984 found a dozen tombs inside the ‘palace’ – ossuaria cut into the rock, painted with red crosses and chrysostoms, so the question arises whether the church (with preserved 14th century frescoes and a small altar with a rectangular aedicula) was really turned into a residential building for the needs of the residence? If so, according to new excavations, it could have occurred only in the middle of the 16th century. Not before.
New findings also testify to the fact that the previous church building was conceived differently, possibly with a larger apse,. Namely, when we thought that there were no older layers, in room 194 D we found fragments of dislocated skeletons of younger individuals – children between 6 and 10 years old, and subsequently placed bones. It is a small cemetery located behind the apse, right next to the altar, and before the construction of the annex rooms. The belief that children as sinless beings could be buried near the holy altar was widespread in the Middle Ages. This cemetery is buried in a layer that dates to the second half of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century (as evidenced by the pottery of this period), which roughly corresponds to the time of the church’s construction. To make the situation even more interesting, older layers from the early Byzantine period were also found. This is evidenced by several dozen fragments of coarse pottery decorated with ‘waves’ and fragments of terracotta from that period.