Plaošnik Archaeological Site

Plaošnik is a large archeological and historic site on a forested hill to the west of old Ohrid; it has archaeological and architectural remains from all the cultural eras in Ohrid from prehistory to the Ottoman period. Near the area known as Plaošnik (in Old Slavic it means a levelled place on a hill), there is a monumental early Christian church. Its systematic excavation began in 1961 and was completed in 1964. The church was built and decorated in the 5th century at the time when the town of Lychnidos was an important Early Christian episcopal center. It has a trefoil plan with multiple semicircular apses and was built on the foundations of an older Roman structure. Mosaic compositions with figurative, floral and zoomorphic motifs have been unearthed in the central part and in the baptistery. Roughly one hundred square meters of mosaics have been preserved. The vaulted ceilings of the church were also ornamented with mosaics, which were set against a gold background. The presence of such luxurious decoration points to this church being the seat of the Bishopric of Lychnidos. Systematic excavations have shown that the church was of monumental dimensions.