Archaeological excavations in the church of St Luke the Evangelist in Novska in 2018

Tijekom jeseni 2018. godine Institut za arheologiju je arheološki istražio dijelove crkve sv. Luke Evanđeliste u centru grada Novske. U istraživanjima su pronađeni dijelovi starije sakralne građevine, jednobrodne, kvadratnoga svetišta, koja je u zapadnome dijelu imala triforij. S obzirom na veličinu crkve – unutarnje dimenzije iznose 11,61 x 6,96 m – možemo pretpostaviti da je riječ o privatnoj, dvorskoj crkvi ili kapeli lokalnoga gospodara. Ova pretpostavka, pokaže li se ispravnom, objasnila bi i činjenicu da crkva nije popisana u čuvenome popisu župa arhiđakona Ivana Goričkoga iz 1334. godine. Temelji su građeni naizmjenično opekom i kamenjem, dok su sami zidovi građeni opekom i to prema dobro i praktično osmišljenom projektu. Sudeći prema njenim karakteristikama, crkva je najvjerojatnije sagrađena u drugoj polovici 12. stoljeća. Pronađeni su i brojni zanimljivi nalazi iz različitih vremenskih razdoblja, uključujući i prapovijesne jame s keramikom lasinjske i vinkovačke kulture.In the autumn of 2018, the Institute of Archaeology did archaeological excavations of parts of the church of St Luke the Evangelist in the town centre of Novska. The excavations uncovered parts of an older sacral building with a single nave, a rectangular sanctuary, and a triforium in the western part. Considering the size of the church – measuring 11.61 x 6.96 m on the inside – we can assume it was a private, court church or a chapel of a local lord. If this assumption is proven to be true, it would explain the fact that the church is not mentioned in the famous list of parishes written by Archdeacon Ivan Gorički in 1334. The foundations were built of bricks alternating with stone, while the walls were built of bricks pursuant to a practical and well thought-out project. Considering its characteristics, the church was most probably built in the second half of the 12th century. Also, there were many interesting finds from different periods, including prehistoric pits with Lasinja and Vinkovci culture pottery