Mirila Cemetery and Starigrad Part 2

 Starigrad is located in the Velebit-Paklenica area and the Mirila Cemetery is just above the city, a short drive uphill. From that hill you can look down on Starigrad  and the sea. It sure is a beautiful view, and the way the sea shimmered was amazing. Starigrad was built on the foundations of the ancient Roman market town and port of Argyruntum, and is home to Manita Peć Cave, a cave in the Paklenica park open to visitors since 1937. So you can see the city right from the cemetery. It was sort of the past and the present together. Then we drove back through town and arrived back in Maslenica for a coffee by the Riva. Below is also my work in progress of rocks and a fish. Had a hard time getting that head to look like a fish head but I eventually worked it out.

Mirila Ancient Cemetery Part 1

We took a ride for about an hour to arrive at the city of Starigrad. It is past Seline where we go to the beach. Starigrad has its own beaches but we've not been to them yet. But I have heard about a very old cemetery that I wanted to see. Mirila is a place of rest for people from the 17th to the 20th centuries. When the people from the Velebit mountain passed away they were brought down by their loved ones to the foot of the mountain and by the sea where they could say goodbye to the sun. It was a strict custom that the pallbearers were permitted to lay the corpse down on the ground only once during the entire long and treacherous journey. At the designated spot, people would measure the body of the deceased. They used a flat stone tablet at the head as the headstone and another at the feet to match the exact height of the individual. The headstones were engraved with shallow, rustic carvings. These symbols represent a fascinating blend of ancient pagan beliefs and early Christianity; solar circles, crosses and human like figures. This was an interesting place for my sister and I.