Marko A. Janković

The paper reviews long-standing interpretation of the late Iron Age site of Židovar as “Celtic”, “Dacian” and “Celto-Dacian”. Arguing that this standpoint is derived from biased culture-historical ethno-determinism, the evidence is reconsidered from excavation journals of Branko Gavela and published research on Židovar. Evidential basis is discussed, such as sratigraphic difficulties and chronology, as well as some common misconceptions of the site’s characteristics. Deadlocks are emphasized regarding the conclusions on its ethnic belonging. The paper calls for a new approach that goes beyond ethno-cultural determinism and urges the employment of “relational locality”. This perspective considers the site and its immediate surroundings as the first order community, i.e. the spatio-social focal point entangled in diverse, multidirectional and supra-regional relational networks. This would mean that the community of Židovar actively mediated different templates coming from the “globali...

The period between the two world wars is extremely important for the history of Serbian and Yugoslav archaeology, because this is the time when the discipline was rapidly institutionalized – new museums are established, new professionals are trained, and large fieldwork projects are initiated. At that moment, as well as immediately after – during the World War II, European archaeology is to the great extent oriented towards the German professionals and institutions.  In Germany and Austria institutionalization started earlier, by the beginning of the 20th century, so a great number of the Serbian and Yugoslav archaeologists was educated in the German centres – Marburg, Berlin, Munich, Vienna and other universities. Adam Oršić started working in archaeology in 1930s, self-taught and leaning primarily on the experience of older colleagues, rather than on formal education, which he did not possess at the time. However, he started fieldwork on the sites in Niš and the surrounding area, ...

Natpisi na kamenim urnama gladijatora, sahranjenim u bliskom okruženju amfiteatra u Saloni, pružaju nam uvid u društveni status gladijatora, što predstavlja pravu retkost u arheološkom zapisu. Informacije koje nam ti natpisi pružaju govore nam o preferiranom identitetu sahranjenih gladijatora. S jedne strane, radi se o robovima bez rimskog građanskog prava sa ograničenim poljem društvenog delovanja, dok se sa druge strane način sahrane (kamena urna sa natpisnim poljem i predstavom) ne razlikuje mnogo od sahrana rimskih građana iz istog perioda. Iako su gladijatori bili veoma popularni, spadali su zajedno sa glumcima, prostitutkama, podvodačima i trenerima u grupu infames prema kojoj se rimsko društvo odnosilo kao prema jednoj od društveno neprihvatljivih grupa. Ipak, i pored takvog društvenog statusa gladijatora, podaci dobijeni kroz natpise sa urni, govore o biranim informacijama upućenim na način na koji se od posmatrača očekuje da prepozna određenu sliku – sliku o pripadnosti gla...

The traditional concept of Romanization has heavily influenced the methodology of research of the Roman monuments in Europe. The basic principles of the concept have been laid out by Theodor Mommsen, the German historian and an expert in epigraphy, who was the first to define the relationships between the Roman…

The professional career of Adam Oršić went through many ups and downs and odd detours. He began his professional life in Niš, as an assistant in the Museum to whose foundation he contributed, and during the World War II he focused upon his studies and the archaeological projects in Austria, with the aid of Oswald Menghin. The unstable political circumstances in the Balkans at the time, and the personal and professional decisions Oršić made, led to his long career in Brazil. During the four decades of devoted work, Oršić took part in numerous archaeological projects throughout Europe and South America, and his pioneering work in Brazil is still the subject of discussion in the archaeological community. The results of the work of Oršić in Yugoslavia have been largely ignored and finally forgotten. The paper presents an attempt to point to the importance of the research of Adam Oršić and the relevance of his results for the generations of archaeologists.

The site Crkvine is situated in the vicinity of the village Stubline in the borough of Obrenovac around 40 km to the southwest of Belgrade (Serbia). In the first section of this work we present the comprehensive report about the investigations carried out so far. The geomagnetic prospection undertaken from 2006 to 2008 covered an area of 32,400 square meters and the obtained results indicate the existence of around 100 houses built in rows around the rather large open areas as well as the trenches surrounding the settlement. The investigations of the house 1/2008 dating from the Vinca culture D-2 period yielded in addition to the data concerning its interior organization also a unique find of the group of 46 figurines with 11 models of miniature tools. In the second section of this work we discuss the prospects, which future investigations of this site and its environment could provide concerning the study of the social organization in the very end of the Vinca culture.

There are approximately 40 Roman baths dating from the 1st to 4th century AD that have been discovered in the territory of Moesia Superior. Most of them were systematically investigated, while some were only indirectly confirmed, either by means of surveys or through epigraphic monuments. The presence and layout of the rooms in these baths points to the conclusion that most activities in the baths of Moesia Superior were similar to those in other parts of the Empire. However, the baths from this territory also show some peculiarities, setting them apart from other parts of the Roman Empire. Although insufficiently investigated and reported on, the portable archaeological finds point to a whole host of activities that were not connected with the bath’s essential function – hygiene and health. Musical instruments, styluses, board game accessories and spindle discs are just some of the objects that illustrate the activities in baths, suggesting that it is not enough to interpret these ...

The paper discuss the importance of archival material in the light of archaeological research. During the last decade, the history of archaeology as a discipline became an important topic, and consequently, relying on material kept in various archives is simply inevitable. Usage of methodology which is not custom to archaeologists and for which they do not have proper education, might lead to possible issues in interpretations. This paper deals with the specific case of Adam Oršić, an archaeologist whose actions had wider implications on archaeology in Serbia. Most of the information regarding his career comes from various private and public archives, so I hope that I will be able to demonstrate the value that such material has for the history of the discipline.

Apstrakt: Jedan od važnih aspekata bavljenja arheologijom, od njenih početaka do danas, svakako je terenski rad. U periodu između dva svetska rata i tokom Drugog svetskog rata, disciplina se po prvi put institucionalizuje, a arheolozi iz Jugoslavije su u velikoj meri oslonjeni na rezultate nemačke arheologije pa samim tim i na iskustva njihove terenske prakse. U takvim okolnostima, radio je i Adam Oršić koji je terenski rad smatrao centralnim u arheologiji. Veći deo svoje karijere proveo je vršeći terenska istraživanja u Srbiji, Evropi i Južnoj Americi, a rezultate koji su tim radom nastajali koristio je u svrhu sticanja društvenog i akademskog statusa u sredinama u kojima je radio. Rezultate iskopavanja smatrao je ekskluzivnim, a dokumentacija i građa služili su mu, pogotovo tokom perioda okupacije, kao simbolički kapital kojim je pregovarao svoj status i autoritet. Ključne reči: terenske prakse, Adam Oršić, istorija discipline, autoritet, moć Jedan od najinteresantnijih i najzahvalnijih poslova kojima se arheolog bavi, je traganje za dosada još nepoznatim arheološkim nalazištima. (Oršić 1936) Terenska istraživanja predstavljaju jedan od osnovnih vidova bavljenja arhe-ologijom i danas, kao i pre više od jednog stoleća. U arheološkim zajednicama širom sveta, metode i tehnike su tokom decenija menjane i usavršavane, ali se suštinski sam proces nije umnogome promenio. Bez obzira na uvođenje novih i preciznijih tehnika za beleženje podataka, i danas se iskopavanja često prakti-kuju zarad "otkrivanja" ili "spasavanja" arheoloških podataka (Leighton 2015, 66). Uglavnom se te metode i tehnike koriste neupitno, kao standardizovane * Članak je nastao kao rezultat rada na projektu Arheološka kultura i identiteti na Zapadnom Balkanu, br. 177008, koji finansira Ministarstvo prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja Republike Srbije.

Apstrakt: Životne i arheološke putanje Adama Oršića često su išle različitim smero-vima, naizgled stihijski i bez ikakvog jasnog plana. Ipak, konstanta u njegovoj biografiji je rad na arheologiji, bilo da se radi o neolitskom naselju na Bubnju kod Niša, rimskoj utvrdi kod Miheldorfa ili humkama u Brazilu. Bez obzira na njegov društveni položaj ili političke prilike u kojima se našao, Oršić je istrajavao u bavljenju arheologijom. Na tom putu, Oršić je načinio važna otkrića, publikovao vredne radove za veliki broj loka-liteta koji se istražuju i danas, i trudio se da stečeno znanje prenese drugima, bilo kroz obuku lokalnih poverenika, nastavu koju je držao studentima u Brazilu ili na stručnim skupovima. Arheologijom u Nišu bavio se s pozicije kustosa Muzeja u čijem osnivanju je učestvovao, ali i kao referent Banovinskog konzervatorskog odeljenja. Tokom Dru-gog svetskog rata, nakon kratkog političkog nameštenja u Srbiji,odlazi u Hrvatsku gde se bavi diplomatijom, da bi pred sam kraj rata otišao u Austriju, gde je učestvovao u arheološkim kampanjama Muzeja u Lincu (Landesmuseum Linz). Oršić 1951. godine odlazi u Brazil, gde nastavlja karijeru arheologa do svoje smrti 1968. godine. I pored sveg važnog posla koji je obavio u Jugoslaviji, dugo je ignorisan u lokalnim arheološ-kim zajednicama. Ključne reči: istorija discipline, biografija, Adam Oršić, Muzej u Nišu, Drugi svet-ski rat, arheologija u Brazilu Malo je ljudi u srpskoj i jugoslovenskoj arheologiji koji su učinili toliko važ-nog posla, a za kojima je ostalo tako malo pisanog traga. Rekonstrukcija kari-jere i života Adama Oršića, podrazumevala je dugotrajan rad i pretragu arhiva i * Tekst je nastao kao rezultat rada na projektu " Arheološka kultura i identitet na zapadnom Balkanu " , broj 177008, koji finansira Ministarstvo prosvete, nauke i tehnološkog razvoja Republike Srbije. Rad ni izbliza ne bi bio kompletan da nije bilo nesebične pomoći nekoliko kolega, poput Darka Periše iz Zagreba, Aleksandra Bandovića iz Narodnog muzeja u Beogradu, Tomasa Majsela (Thomas Maisel) iz Arhiva Univerziteta u Beču, Johana Delanoja (Johann Delanoy) iz Arhiva Univerziteta u Leobenu, Igora Kmiza (Igor Chmyz) i Lercija Brokijea (Laercio Brochier) sa Univerziteta u Parani. Svima najsrdačnije zahvaljujem.

We are happy to announce the call for papers for the third conference Imperialism and Identities at the Edges of the Roman World. The conference covers various topics within the theme of social interactions directly or indirectly connected to the Roman socio-political system operating for several centuries in the Mediterranean and continental parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. The goal of the conference is to enable an open discussion on variety of approaches from different theoretical and methodological positions, as well as various disciplinary perspectives (archaeology, history, anthropology, art history, heritage studies). The IIERW is set to establish a wide network of scholars with different geographic and academic backgrounds and research experiences dealing with the Roman imperialism and related issues.

The first discovery of dice was made accidentally in 1908 during the construction of Belgrade’s telephone switch building, and the last one in 2008. The century-long exploration of ancient Singidunum has uncovered sixteen finds that can be associated with board games. The body of finds is not large but it is illustrative enough because the finds come from different archaeological contexts. A problem in making a catalogue of this type of finds is the unpublished material. Counters, boards and dice have not been attractive enough for researchers and most are referred to only cursorily. The finds have been referred to as items in collections in MA and PhD theses dealing with a particular kind of finds, or as items in exhibition catalogues. Texts specifically  discussing this theme are few. The finds cover the period of the 1st to 4th centuries, or the period of Roman rule. The finds of dice, counters and boards from Singidunum and its environs should be looked at in the context of a larger whole, the Roman Empire, rather than in isolation.
Such finds do not occur before the Roman conquest of what was to become the province of Moesia. The popularity of board games is evidenced by 223 published finds from more than forty sites across Serbia.
Most finds from Singidunum come from civilian contexts. Whether recovered from dump pits or from hearths, what they have in common is that they were discarded while still “in circulation”; which is a probable explanation for the isolated discoveries. A similar example has been registered on Sirmium’s Site 80 (city’s dump yard), which yielded
four discarded counters, or Site 44, where a counter was discovered in the dump pit of a bone-carving workshop. The site at 9 Studentski Trg yielded an inscribed bone counter such as found across the Roman Empire, but the only such piece known from Serbia. Its importance resides in the fact that it is the only piece found on the floor of a house, meaning that it had been in use before the house was abandoned.
The finds from burials constitute the largest group of such finds from Moesia. Of 223 finds, 157 come from burials, which accounts for 70% of the total number. As they were found on sites all over Moesia, there does not seem to be a pattern relating them to any particular funeral rite, or to the social or ethnic background, age or sex of the deceased.
Counters and dice were found in brick-built graves (Singidunum: 28, Majke Jevrosime St; Niš), in leaden sarcophagi (Singidunum: 47, Kosovska St; Viminacium) and in cremation burials (Viminacium). In the cases where the age and sex of the deceased could be determined (Viminacium), it turned out that they were equally distributed between adults and children of both sexes. No pattern in the grave goods seems to be recognizable, i.e. the finds of dice and counters do not occur in association with any particular type of finds. There are several explanations for the presence of counters and dice in funerary contexts. One of them refers to Stoic philosophy with its view of the world as a board game of chance, with humans being mere gaming pieces and the dice, thrown by someone else, deciding the outcome of the game beyond their influence. Others relate the magical properties of dice to the cult of Venus Funeraria. Just as gamers in this world needed Venus’ sympathy, so the dwellers of the Underworld needed the sympathy of Venus Funeraria. It is well known that the best throw of dice, two or three sixes depending on the number of dice, is known as the Venus throw. In his analysis of the contents of some of Viminacium’s graves, A. Jovanović observes that the dice do not occur in association with other types of finds relatable to the cult of Venus such as dolphins, shells, pins with heads in the form of Venus’ bust. In the discussion about the symbolism of the finds, a certain distinction is made between the finds from burials and those from other contexts. The finds from thermae, taverns, houses and fortresses are interpreted as elements of the game set, and the dice and counters from burials are interpreted as elements of the rite related to the funeral and to the deceased, whether seen as the deceased’s self-interpretation or as an expression of the living relatives’ beliefs. The isolated finds of counters and dice in most graves would suggest the expression of beliefs, where a single counter or die is enough to convey a message as a substitute for the whole set. On the other hand, it would be logical to expect a larger number of finds in civilian or military buildings. The situation is quite the opposite. A tomb in Niš yielded almost the whole game set (only the board is missing, although a wooden one should not be ruled out), while an unpublished grave at Viminacium contained as many as 59 counters made of different materials. These instances stand in stark contrast to most cases from civilian and military buildings where no more than three dice or counters are found in association.
The finds of board games, which are associated with leisure time, departs from anything known so far in the archaeological literature dealing with Roman society. The subject of this paper may seem flippant or even unnecessary, but any belittlement of such finds takes us a step farther from a comprehensive picture of the society that produced them. Leisure time is a little known aspect of Roman everyday life and our knowledge amounts to written sources created at different times and on different occasions. Therefore the body of such finds is a useful basis for exploring this aspect of Roman everyday life. The intellectual nature of board games, their intricate rules and practising in different strata of society shed light on the importance the Romans attached to their leisure time. According to some historical sources, time spent playing board games was time well spent intellectually, and the skill was considered “cultural”, in some circles even desirable. By contrast, other chroniclers and poets of the Roman period considered it an immoral vice. Many sources referring to games, regardless of the way in which they deal with them, provide nothing more than the impression of the contemporaries. Understanding the concept of board games and associated activities (gambling, competition, creativity…) would contribute to a broader understanding of the ancient Romans leisure time and everyday life.

"Finds which are mainly connected with roman board games were found on a great number of roman sites throughout modern Serbia. Counters, dices and boards represents a common asemblage in a various contextes. Basic question that this paperwork is dealing with, is what game this finds are belong to. Reconstructions of the basic rules of these games are drawn upon archaeological evidence, written sources, and work of previous board games researchers.
According to evidences from Serbia, two different games may be reconstructed - Ludus latrunculorum and XII Scripta."

Most of our knowledge of the Late Iron Age populations of the Western Balkans is based upon the texts written by the Greek and Roman authors. Traditionally, these texts have been used to demarcate areas inhabited by these populations and to associate certain material culture with various ethnic groups. Such reasoning is inspired by previous identification of material culture with ethnicity. The contexts of finds with mutually different ethnic associations were observed as imports or as a result of exchange, loot or war trophy. The more or less strict division between prehistorians and Romanists within the discipline has additionally complicated the clarification of the archeological situations from the 1st century AD where the local material culture was found together with the Roman objects. Little attention was paid to such finds, neglecting their potential to illustrate processes that occurred during the 1st century AD. Finds like these are not only important for tracing the cultural change, but also for explaining the construction of new hybrid provincial identities and their maintenance. The Iron Age populations are driven into the new social circumstances and in order to maintain their status in the new situation, they used visible parts of the “Roman” culture and integrated them into their own local needs. As a result, we can recognize new, hybrid identities, created by two (or more) different parties.
The main goal of this paper is to break down the opposition between the Iron Age “ethnic groups” and the “Roman culture” through the ongoing debate on cultural transformation, known as the process of Romanization. This approach, different than the traditional one, suggest the reexamination of the nature of the non-Romans/Romans relation. According to this approach, the non-Roman people were never transformed to the Romans, but were creating a new local Roman culture. The Roman culture was reinvented in different local context, allowing the coexistence of imperial context of social changes and the local adoption of the Roman identity.

Findings related to Roman board games are much common at Roman sites across the Balkans. More than 250 findings were discovered across the forty Roman sites of different size, scale and context. The most obvious fact about these findings is that more than seventy percent has been found in grave context. Unfortunately, we do not have complete information about graves, but we have enough data to make some general conclusions. By now, there are no obvious regular traits considering burial rites, grave architecture or biological and social characteristics of deceased. Board game accessories were found in both male and female burials, adults and children. The number of finds is almost equal in graves with inhumated and incinerated deceased, and analyses of grave architecture shows great variations in context – lead and stone sarcophagus, brick graves and simple pits dugout in earth. Association with other findings is also inconclusive. These findings were found in very “poor” and very “rich” graves. Scale is moving from single iron nail to vast variety of golden jewelry.
By now, there are a few actual interpretations. Most of them are trying to connect these finds with religious practice and philosophical views. One of the explanations is that game accessories are connected with the Venus burial cult – the so-called Venus Funeraria. Dealing with grave inventory, it suggests that these findings were not to be found in graves with other Venus-connected inventory like bone pins with goddess’s bust or dolphins. Yet, this explanation is not satisfying considering the fact that the similar explanation also can be used for any other cult. In that case, absence of findings cannot be positive argument. The second opinion is trying to explain this phenomenon through stoicism views, trying directly to connect dice before all with philosophical fatalistic view. Nevertheless, there are no explanations which could observe these finds through everyday life. As we can see, we cannot point out any social group based on any criteria that we can identify it. That is the main reason why this paper is trying to explain board game accessories as a part of everyday identity of Roman or Roman-like society. Board games do represent a part of life where one can lose social, ethnic or any other boundaries that separate  us  in some other daily activities. These game-connected finds represent a part of identity that does not reflect any of the usual aspects that archaeologists recognize in their work.
There is only one case noted in Moesia Superior where a complete board game has been found. Most of them are represented by only one or two counters or dice. Also, there is an obvious lack of gaming boards in Roman graves. This can also outline that we are dealing with an idea reflection, where small pieces are evidently enough to present the meaning of such practices. Unfortunately, that meaning is lost and we can only catch small and scarce fragments of it. This paper has no ambition to solve all problems connected with these finds, but to merely move the point of view and point out some alternative directions.

We are happy to announce the call for papers for the fourth conference Imperialism and Identities at the Edges of the Roman World. The conference covers various topics within the theme of social interactions directly or indirectly connected to the Roman socio-political system operating for several centuries in the Mediterranean and continental parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. The goal of the conference is to enable an open discussion on a variety of approaches from different theoretical and methodological positions, as well as various disciplinary perspectives (archaeology, history, anthropology, art history, heritage studies). The IIERW is set to establish a wide network of scholars with different geographic and academic backgrounds and research experiences dealing with Roman imperialism and related issues.

We are happy to announce the call for papers for the third conference Imperialism and Identities at the Edges of the Roman World. The conference covers various topics within the theme of social interactions directly or indirectly connected to the Roman socio-political system operating for several centuries in the Mediterranean and continental parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. The goal of the conference is to enable an open discussion on variety of approaches from different theoretical and methodological positions, as well as various disciplinary perspectives (archaeology, history, anthropology, art history, heritage studies). The IIERW is set to establish a wide network of scholars with different geographic and academic backgrounds and research experiences dealing with the Roman imperialism and related issues.