Crkvine in Cista Velika are located in Imotska krajina whose history goes as far back as prehistoric times, from the first gradina to the foundation of a Roman village. Ancient times proved to be a well developed time and two rooms were found as well as the cemetery amongst plenty sarcophagi from which one of the famous ones is that of Elija Viktorina, who was a wife of a veteran of 14th Legion Geminae as well as the first citizen of the place known by name. Many of the sarcophagi and tombstones will later be used as a spolium in early Christian and early Middle Ages. In early Christian times, three churches have been built in succession in Crkvine, two of which are basilicas and one church with a three-leaf apse. It is also considered to be the most prosperous time for Crkvine due to the finding of a baptistery pool with three variations which is the sole example of such a case on east Jadran coast. After the early Christian period, there was a short period of stagnation before two small churches were built and Crkvine were abandoned until their discovery by Lovre Katić in 1935 who documented his discovery for future excavations by Nenad Cambi and Ljubomir Gudelj, and Crkvine as well as its sculpture was placed under care of Museum Hrvatskih arheoloških spomenika and the area was turned into an archaeological park.