Roman, Late Antique and Medieval archaeology in the Balkans

It has been almost 50 years since Peter Brown published his book “The World of Late Antiquity” and thus gave rise to a whole school of thought that challenged the notion of urban decay and the decline of the Roman Empire pioneered by Edward Gibbon. The international discourse on the late antique world has gained much from this approach of looking beyond the Roman-barbarian dichotomy and focusing on the intricate play of religious, social and economic factors that shaped late antique cityscapes. However, the Balkan and especially the local scholarship on Late Roman urbanisation, has not moved much beyond the notions of urban decay caused by barbarian attacks. Even in works published as late as 2019, Huns, Slavs and Avars rampage through the cities of the Macedonian provinces, even though neither archaeological evidence nor primary written sources lend themselves well to support such narratives. Therefore, this presentation seeks to examine and to reevaluate how primary written sources are (mis)used in local scholarship to create almost fanciful urban histories.
In the research for this presentation, several case studies (the focus was on the cities of Stobi and Scupi) were examined against a dossier of primary written sources and contemporary scholarship dealing with this topic. The sources in question cover the period between late 3rd and early 7th c. and were penned by authors of different backgrounds, political agendas and familiarity with the Balkans. This analysis was juxtaposed with the urban histories of Stobi and Scupi as presented in major publications. Mindful of the time constriction in presenting, I am focusing on only one alleged raid (a Hunnic invasion of the mid-440s) on one late Roman city (Stobi) as an illustration.

The hinterland of the eastern Adriatic suffered a great injustice in Fernand Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. The great historian repeatedly sees this region as backward and poor, and its society as timeless and unchanging. This „barbarism“ of the hinterland is sharply juxtaposed with distinctive civilization he attributes to the Dalmatian coast and its cities. Braudel did not invent this dichotomy, but rather drew on the existing discourse in travelling and scholarly literature. The roots of this discourse can be traced to two centuries earlier, to the influential travel diaries of Venetian Alberto Fortis (Viaggo in Dalmazia [Venice 1774]). In his narrative Fortis constructed the inhabitants of the Dalmatian hinterland as the Morlacchi – exotic „noble savages“ of early modern Europe.
This paper engages with this discourse on civilizational inequality and the cultural dichotomy between the eastern Adriatic coast and its hinterland. Subversion of Braudel is best done using Braudelian tools, so the paper presents a longue-durèe examination of interaction between the Dalmatian coast and its hinterland from the Late Iron Age to the end of antiquity. The focus of enquiry is placed on tracing cultural mediation and exchange of ideas in the domain of religion through several different periods. The paper presents the eastern Adriatic hinterland as a distinct space of invention and interaction, where local traditions are continuously combined with outside influences in an original and unique fashion.
Two chronologically distinct examples are analysed. First is the negotiation of Graeco-Mediterranean and La Tène cultural influences in a late Iron Age indigenous religious context. Particular focus is placed on material finds from an indigenous sanctuary in Gorica near Grude in Herzegovina, dated from ca. seventh to first century BC. A second example is the use of ‘global’ cults, such as those of Silvanus and Diana, as an interface for communicating and displaying local and imperial Roman identity during the second and third century AD.

Античке археолошке локалитете Алексинца и Соко Бање налазимо на низинским положајима у  моравској долини, док у рановизантијском периоду насеља углавном користе погодности организовања одбране на брдским висовима. Најчешћи налази на теренима касноантичких насеља су фибуле и делови појасне опреме. Рановизантијску појасну опрему, као копче типа Сучидава, копчу типа  Pécs, бронзане и гвоздене пређице, налазимо на локалитетима брдског терена у планинском  окружју Поморавља.  Издвајамо налазе периода Сеобе народа, скупне налазе пронађене уз источне и северне прилазе ка Сокобањској котлини. Реч је о појасној гарнитури пронађеној у селу Јошаница и реч је о налазима бронзаних матрица, пронађених на путу од села Церовица ка Књажевац

This work deals with the wreck site of Veliki Piruzi, dating to the first half of the 5th century AD, which was damaged off the coast of Istria. Before a final evaluation of the entire finds, several explanatory models will be referred to by the circumstances of the find spot. In the absence of a stratigraphy, the finds were in a 0.5 to about 1, 5 m thick, mixed debris layer and the material on the surface was cleared away in the past.
The excavation area is divided into two core areas, the bay probably being the place where the material was washed shortly after the accident and the pits in the southeast around the area where the ship hit the rocks and was damaged. This assumption is supported by the combination with the created depth profile. In addition, the only ship nails, as well as other heavy material, such as the sounding lead, etc. found within the pits, which again speak for a collision of the ship in this area.

First of all, theoretically it could have been a context of many single finds or groups of them that have come to the site as lost objects and have accumulated over time as a result of the geographical location and nautical significance of the small island within its environment. An amphora fragment of a Mau 35, which was produced from the 1st to the 3rd century AD and found outside the excavation area, is probably such a loss piece. The fragment of an oil lamp of the type Loeschke 1b is presumably, despite the position in the center of the concentration, a loss piece too, in this case from the 1st Century AD. However, apart from these two fragments, all other finds, according to an overall assessment, are likely to belong to a related complex and thus to a shipwreck of a temporary position. The least obvious of these are the finds of net weights, one of lead, the remainder of clay, which could also be lost pieces, since they are typologically almost unchanged from the 1st century BC until the 7th Century AD, but also fit as well into the equipment of a late Roman merchant ship.
The majority of finds are late roman amphorae, most of which were produced in the North of modern Tunisia, back than in the Nabeul region, and were used to transport olive oil and wine. Another part of the amphorae comes from the Aegean as well as from the Levant. Some types, such as variants of the Keay XXVI / Spatheion, or the fragments of Samos-Cistern type could have hinted for a dating of the ship to the beginning of the 6th century AD, but an overall evaluation showed, that the material all together hints to a dating in the first half of the 5th century AD.

For an explicit dating of the wreck in the first half of the 5th Century AD and thus in the reign of Valentinian III, especially the ARS finds from the ensemble helped out, which are mainly deep plates of a variant of the form of Hayes 67 from northern Tunisian D2 fabric, which have a dating range from about 420/430 AD to the second quarter or towards the middle of the 5th century AD. The ARS could have been cargo, but also the property of the crew, because of the small amount which was documented.

The undecorated kitchenware, also property of the crew, in the form of bowls, casseroles, one or two handle pots and cooking pots, find their best comparisons in forms from North Africa, the Aegean region, the Italian heartland and the upper Adriatic, which were in use during the 5th Century AD. In many cases the material shows strong quartz tempering and the detail features of fabric of North African origin. The kitchen utensils are complemented by Attic and Pseudoattic goods in the form of kink-wall pots, two-necked pots or casseroles originally from the Aegean region but also found in the upper Adriatic. Finally, the crew owned kitchen utensils of heavy pottery, which comes from the island of Pantelleria and also dated to the first half of the 5th century AD.

As further evidence of a clear wreck site, two fragments of dolia can be cited, which, as well as the ballast stones found, are in no case loss items, but unfortunately they cannot be dated well. The imbrices and tegulae found might be part of a fireplace or the galley and not cargo, again because of the small amount, their different shapes and material compositions. Finally, a single tubi fittili fits also into the 5th century dating and was maybe produced in the Carthage region judging from the fabric. Interestingly it is the first ever documented with a secondary hole drilled of still unknown secondary use.

In the meantime, many finds of tubi fittili have been discovered at various wreck sites, without a clear explanation for it on board of a ship. Probably in the case of Veliki Piruzi a charge of these can be ruled out, not least because of the hitherto singular, subsequent perforation, which speaks for a secondary, not yet unambiguously named use on board of the ship.

U tekstu su analizirani objavljeni rezultati nedavnih iskapanja starokršćanskoga bazilikalnog kompleksa i ranosrednjovjekovnih grobova u tumulima kod Ljupča pored Nina. Originalna interpretacija pripisuje uništenje kompleksa i ranosrednjovjekovne grobove doseljenim Slavenima. Analizirajući postojeće informacije u širem kontekstu, tekst nudi alternativnu interpretaciju nalaza, kojom se ukazuje na metodološke probleme s kojima se često u hrvatskoj arheologiji susreću pokušaji identificiranja ranosrednjovjekovnih Slavena u Dalmaciji.

In this paper are analysed published results of recent excavations of early Christian complex and early medieval graves in burial mounds in the area of Ljubač near Nin. The original interpretation ascribed the destruction of the early Christian basilical complex and the appearance of early medieval graves to recently migrated Slavic groups. By analysing the existing information in a wider context, this paper offers alternative interpretation of the finds, discussing methodological problems encountered by the Croatian archaeologists attempting to identify early medieval Slavs in Dalmatia.

This article presents the outcomes of the observation and non-destructive survey of the semi-ruined late-medieval church of St. Petka in the village of Balsha, Bulgaria. Making use of contemporary photographic techniques, the examination allowed the authors to further and deepen the available information on the architecture and wall paintings of the church, while the analysis of the collected data led to reevaluation of the arguments supporting its dating.

Co-directed with Javier Arce. External Guest Speakers : 19 October 2016 : Vujadin Ivanišević (Археолошки институт, Београд) ; 7 March 2017 : Jim Crow (University of Edinburgh) ; 4 April 2017 : Damián Fernández (Northern Illinois University).

Cet ouvrage consacré aux agglomérations et aux communications sur le territoire de la Serbie contemporaine, entre le Ier et VIe s. p.C., est un essai de caractérisation des étapes du développement des agglomérations et des communications dans cette partie de l’Empire que sont les Balkans, dont l’histoire est marquée par des changements historiques et sociaux majeurs.
Il a été rédigé dans l’intention de rassembler en un texte unique les informations historiques, littéraires, épigraphiques et archéologiques relatives à ce vaste espace stratégiquement important. Il s’adresse aussi bien aux spécialistes, historiens et archéologues, qu’au grand public.

Presentation given at the INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARLY CONFERENCE “LATE ANTIQUE CHRISTIANITY IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE”, YAMBOL, 3-5 OCTOBER 2019.

The advent of Christianity and its accession to official religion of the Empire is one of the main hallmarks of late antiquity. In the late antique discourse of the Balkans, the Church dominates: from iconographic studies on art and architecture to analyses of ecclessiastical treatises. However, apart from dominating ancient cityscapes and leaving astonishing art as its legacy, the Church and its officials had a very practical and pragmatic influence on the everyday life and the economic management of late antique cities. In this prsentation,  I am to analyse contemporary written sources, mostly Roman laws, and to pair them with archeological evidence coming from the sites of Scupi (Dardania) and Stobi (Macedonia II) in an attempt to reconstruct the economic power of the Church. From the fifth century onwards, if not earlier, the Church was a ery active "mover and shaker" in the management of the funds of local councils and imprial generodity, as well inclded in dictsting the needs of free market both as a consumer and a producer from the estates it owned. Furthermore, as churches became focal points of uranisation, market space and shops started to gravitate towards them, ehichis  more implicit way how the Church influenced everyday life and commerece.

El ámbito balcánico, notablemente ignorado por la historiografía española, constituyó uno de los pilares fundamentales para el Imperio romano de Oriente desde la traslación de la sede imperial a Constantinopla bajo Constantino I (ca. 324) hasta su alienación debido a la acción militar ávara y el establecimiento eslavo a comienzos del siglo VII. El objetivo de este I Seminario, encuadrado dentro del Máster Interuniversitario de Historia y Ciencias de la Antigüedad (MIHCA) -impartido por las Universidades Autónoma y Complutense de Madrid-, es analizar, desde una perspectiva global e interdisciplinar, los procesos históricos que tuvieron lugar en este área geográfica durante el período citado y su directa influencia en el devenir histórico del Imperio.

The Balkan area, notably neglected by Spanish historiography, was one of the backbones of the Eastern Roman Empire from the movement of the imperial see to Constantinople under the auspices of emperor Constantine I (ca. 324) up to its alienation due to the military action of the Avars and the Slavic settlement in the early Seventh century. The aim of this First Seminar, framed within the Interunivestity Master in History and Sciences of Antiquity (MIHCA) -imparted by Universities Autónoma and Complutense of Madrid- is to analyze, from a global and interdisciplinary perspective, the diverse historical processes that took place in this geographic area during this period and their direct influence on the historical development of the Empire

Link to the recorded presentation https://youtu.be/Go63fEtHlCA
The excavations of the site of Zaldapa (Dobrič dep., Bulgaria), a key point in the province of Scythia Minor, testify to the evolution of military architecture during Late Antiquity, with more regional, even local, implementations of these precepts. These excavations thus make it possible to place Zaldapa in a wider context, that of a province which, after the abandonment of Dacia, became particularly exposed within the Barbaricum. The lecture will be in French.

Les fouilles du site de Zaldapa (dép. de Dobrič, Bulgarie) point d'appui dans la province de Scythie Mineure, témoignent de l'évolution de l'architecture militaire durant l'Antiquité tardive, avec des mises en oeuvre plus régionales, voire locales, de ces préceptes. Ces fouilles permettent ainsi de replacer Zaldapa dans un contexte plus large, celui d’une province, qui après l’abandon de la Dacie devient particulièrement exposée au sein du Barbaricum.

Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt die moderne Mittelalter- und Neuzeitarchäologie Bosnien-Herzegowinas vor und setzt diese in den Kontext politischer Einflussnahmen, Gruppenidentitäten und ihrer allgemeinen gesellschaftlichen Bedeutung. Hierfür sind die bis Mitte 2016 festgehaltenen insgesamt 58 Grabungsprojekte zusammengetragen und in Bezug auf die jeweiligen Themenbereiche, Regionen und Hintergründe im Umfeld der Grabungen sowie die unterschiedlichen Strukturen innerhalb des Landes miteinander verglichen worden. Die musealen Einrichtungen BiHs, der Zustand von Bau- und Kulturdenkmälern sowie die Beziehungen der Archäologen untereinander und die Recherchebedingungen wurden hierbei ebenfalls betrachtet. Abschließend wird die Notwendigkeit einer global- und nicht nationaldenkenden Geschichtswissenschaft und insbesondere Archäologie betont, die vor allem in Fragen von propagierten religiösen, ethnischen und angeblich vorgegebenen gesellschaftlichen Unterschieden politisch aktiv werden und eine starke Position gegen einseitige Kulturvermittlung und rein nationale Archäologien vertreten muss.

The Roman army conquered the region of the central Balkans during the 1st century AD. The territory was urbanized and the network of roads that connected eastern and western parts of the Empire was built. The Roman period in the region is characterized by different phenomena, such as economic prosperity followed by periods of crises, transformations in material culture, while the Hunnic invasion that destroyed most of the cities in 441AD marked the end of the era. One of the most important Roman sites in the region was Viminacium, where the fortress of the legion VII Claudia was stationed. Next to the fortress a city developed and became the capital of the province of Upper Moesia. The area was surrounded by rural settlements and agrarian features. The large scale archaeological and archaeozoological survey of the site enables us to study aspects of the impact of different economic, political, and social circumstances on animal management in the region. This paper will bring together archaeozoological data from different periods and areas of Viminacium (legionary fortress, amphitheater, and settlements in the vicinity). By focusing on intra-site similarities/differences in species ratios, and also mortality profiles, and biometry of domesticates, the paper will discuss specific practices of animal exploitation both diachronically and contextually. This study will tackle questions related to the impact of the Roman socio-economic organization on animal exploitation in the region, such as provisioning cities with animal products, roles of animals in trade, the significance of wildlife and exotic animals in the economy.