Among the many ancient remains in the area the most prominent is Narona, an ancient Roman town found in today's village of Vid. Along with Salona and Jader (today's Zadar), Narona was a major city in the ancient Roman province of Dalmatia. Recent archaeological finds have lead experts to believe that the town continued to exist after the Roman empire, well into the Middle Ages. This is supported by the early Christian basilica at Erešove bare, which was built in the 7th century on the ruins of a 3rd-century Roman Villa rustica. The greatest feature of Narona is the original Augustean temple from 10BC, found in the middle of the ancient town forum. The first Croatian on site (in situ) museum was built right above it – the Archaeological Museum Narona in Vid.
The new settlers into the area – the Slavs, Bulgarians and Avars – came into what was then Byzantium, the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. In early Middle Ages the Neretva area was inhabited by Croatian tribes. The main activity of Medieval people in Neretva was piracy at sea, like in neighbouring Pagania, the land of pagan, non-Christian pirates, between the rivers Cetina and Neretva. The early Croatian state in the south was called Neretva Principality, to which Venetians used to pay a toll to gain free passage at sea. The Croatian duke Domagoj was believed to be from this principality; for Venetians he was „the worst Croatian duke“ („dux pessimus Croatorum“).
In the 14th century the valley was invaded by Bosnian kings Stjepan II. Kotromanić, Tvrtko and Herceg Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, as well as the counts Radivojević, Jurjević and Vlatković. The Turks built a tower at Kula Norinska in the 15th century for easier control of the traffic across the Neretva Valley; the remains of this mighty tower are well preserved and can be seen off the main road between Metković and Opuzen.
The role of Roman Narona was taken over by the port town of Drijeva, which was probably situated on the right bank of the river Neretva in today's Gabela. It is believed to have been a major trading post for a wide range of goods, such as cloth, wax, salt and spices, as well as slaves. It was mentioned frequently by public notaries in the Republic of Dubrovnik. These also mentioned the town of Metković in the 15th century, in a document from 1422 kept at the State Archive in Dubrovnik. Metković was first depicted on a map in 1570 by Venetian cartographer Jacopo Gastaldi. The 15th and 16th centuries were characterized by conflicts between the Turks and the Venetians. The Treaty of Požarevac in 1718 determined the border between the Turkish Empire and the Venetian Republic. After this the Venetians destroyed and abandoned Gabela and founded a new port on the River Neretva, in today's Metković.
Contact:
Archaeological Museum Narona
Naronski trg 6, 20352 Vid
Tel: +385 20 691596
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