Rarissima Nomisma from Klisa near Osijek

The fir st and the only known example of silver coin (Banovac, Banski denar) of the duke Charles of Anjou (1350 and 1353- 1354) can be found in the numismatic collection of the Museum of Slavonia in Osijek. It is about denarius of the duke Charles, the son of Károly Róbert, brother of Louis I. of Hungary (1342-1382), who held the title as Slavonian duke from the year 1350. Banovac was discovered by chance in the 19th century at an unknown site in Klisa (Ecclesia) nearby Osijek. The primary aim of this paper is to give a further insight into the typology of Banovac, but also to contribute to the study of important, but less researched archeological sites in Klisa. We will refer to some of its most valuable finds, and link Banovac to Klisa cemetery research site. It is important to emphasize that this type of coin demands iconographic elaboration and broader debate due to complex heraldic and dating aspects. We talk about denarius which completely differs from the usual money emissions of Banovac, and is quoted by most authors who researched Croatian medieval history (TRUHELKA 1897:126; KLAIĆ 1900:113; RENGEO 1959:38; DOLENEC 1996: 38). Although it was described and presented (graph drawing, no photo), denarius has never been reviewed in wider archeological context, i.e. with topographical overview of the research site, which contains a wealth of archeological heritage. The first to analyze and graphically present this denarius was Truhelka in 1897, and his research brought comprehensive and nowadays generally accepted universal typology of Banovac. Klisa is a village situated in eastern Slavonia, next to Osijek – Klisa airport, east from the city of Osijek, which derives its name from the old name Ecclesia, i.e. church (Lat. ecclesia, Fr. église). A big church Santus Salvator and its attendant lands were situated at this site, and it is mentioned in the list of settlements of Eastern Croatia from the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century (1698. et 1702., Osijek, 2000., pp. 39,59). The same list describes village borders and the closest surroundings in the vicinity of the village, where archeological sites are located on two hills (southwest from today’s village Klisa). Those are Klisa hill, significant neolitic site and Klisa cemetery, a site from antique and medieval period. Klisa cemetery was situated about 2 km south-west from the village Klisa, on a small, eliptically shaped, hill, 140 x 160 m in diameter, which rose approximately 4 meters above terrain. Despite being aware of the existence of these important archeological sites in close vicinity, not enough is known about Klisa. Namely, to be able to shape the concept of life in the village, for the time being, mostly random findings and observations from occasional terrain visits have been used, in particular those done by colleagues Mirko Bulat in 1962 and 1979 and Antun Dorn in 1977 or from the unfinished preventive excavations, which were done in 1978 as a result of Osijek – Klisa airport construction. Klisa’s hill and Klisa’s cemetery localities were partially examined at that time. Research results, without accompanying terrain documents, were preliminary published in the magazine called ‘Arheološki pregled’, which show that during excavations three probes were opened (size about 100 m2) with 60 medieval graves (depth between 0,50 – 1,70 meters). Necropolis in Klisa belongs to type of graves West - East oriented, and among women’s and childrens’ graves enclosures jewelry that belongs to culture of Bijelo Brdo ( DORN 1978:130-132) was placed. Two coins were discovered in the graves, out of which one was illegible and fragmented, and therefore its attribution was unable to be confirmed, while the second one was denarius of Hungary-Croatia king Sigismund (1387-1437). Furthermore, the cemetery was dated between the 11 – 15th century. One part of the graves was found next to the remains of a sacral structure (size 10 x 7,75 m) with base ( width 0,80 - 0,90 m) made of stone and roman brick, next to which extended rectangular space, probably a tower, but only with a saved base was built. The analysis, thus far, makes it is easy to perceive that the majority of material culture remains are represented on Klisa cemetery, which is an archeological site from antique and medieval period. The findings are in layer where medieval burial sites are found, namely around church with grave enclosures, mostly jewelry and coins. When dealing with coins, grave enclosure is represented, which is an illegible Hungarian denarius and denarius of Hungary-Croatia king Sigismund of Luxembourg (1387-1437). Banovac of duke Charles of Anjou (1350 and 1353-1354), discovered at the end of the 19th century by chance, very probably originates from this site as well. It became property of count Eltz and was afterwards donated to the Museum in Osijek