The early beginnings of Pula are related to the settlement on the hillfort founded by the Histrians, eponymous inhabitants of the pre-Roman Istria. According to the ancient tradition, the origin of the city is connected to the myth of the Argonauts: after stealing the Golden Fleece and fleeing along the Danube they ended up in Istria. The Colhid search party that followed them to Istria would not dare to return to their motherland after the death of their leader and decided to settle down on the location of Pula. After the defeat the Histrinas suffered in the 2nd Histrian war and the fall of Nesactium in 177 BC Pula came under direct Roman influence. In the period between 47 and 44 BC the city was raised to the rank of colony.
Rescue archaeological research into the area of the park alongside the northern wall of the Cathedral of St. Mary was a continuation of the research conducted in 1995. It was discovered that the internal side of a wall discovered in 1995 has a double layer of plaster fresco-painted in the manner of the Early Imperial period. The stratigraphy of the walls and traces of interments, found in the NW part of the park, point to the existence of Late Antique and Medieval necropolis. (Marko Sinobad)