archaeological group was able to put the age of the church at the late 9th century. The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Dalmatia published a conflicting assessment of the origin of the Holy Salvation, originally published by Mirko Ležaić in 1939 in Belgrade, saying Tvrtko I built it, and that it was destroyed by the Turks in 1512. This is refuted by the archaeological and historical evidence which conclusively dates the foundation of the church and surrounding graves to the 10th century at the latest. The historical and spiritual ownership of remains of the church has long been a source of tension between the local Croatian Catholic and Serb Orthodox population, with both sides claiming ownership. After the archaeological excavations were completed in 1954, the Serbian Orthodox population began a campaign of burying their dead haphazardly throughout grounds in order to lay claim to the church. In 1983 monks from the Serbian Orthodox Church erected iron barred gates at the entrance of the church and walled off the windows to keep to prevent Catholics from utilizing the church. At the same time an ancient wall fragment depicting the Croatian interlace was also destroyed. It was not until after the end of the war that Catholics were able to return to the church and continue their yearly pilgrimage to celebrate the Ascension. Graves The graves found near the Church, dated from the 9th through 14th century, had a specific kind of textile that was found to be comparable in quality with 18th and 19th century clothing. There are over 1,026 old Croatian graves around the church of great archaeological interest. Several tombs have been found in the church itself, most of which (more than 800) originally had stećci, a specific type of medieval tombstone found throughout the western Balkans. The culture of that time was influenced by the Frankish Empire, which was noticed in the archaeological findings from the period and the structure of the church. The excavations by Gunjača and his team unearthed over 1,000 graves over a 11,250m2 area, the majority estimated to have been buried between the 11th and 16th centuries along with some outliers. Several artifacts found in the graves include earrings, rings, buttons, fabric, tiles, and various coins. See also Architecture of Croatia References Citations General sources External links 10th century in Croatia 10th-century churches Archaeological sites in Croatia Buildings and structures in Split-Dalmatia County Churches in