Starinar

In 2012, in the village Davidovac situated in south Serbia, 9.5 km south-west from Vranje, archaeological investigations were conducted on the site Crkviste. The remains of the smaller bronze-age settlement were discovered, above which a late antique horizon was later formed. Apart from modest remains of a bronze-age house and pits, a late antique necropolis was also excavated, of which two vaulted tombs and nine graves were inspected during this campaign. During the excavation of the northern sector of the site Davidovac-Crkviste the north-eastern periphery of the necropolis is detected. Graves 1-3, 5 and 6 are situated on the north?eastern borderline of necropolis, while the position of the tombs and the remaining four graves (4, 7-9) in their vicinity point that the necropolis was further spreading to the west and to the south?west, occupying the mount on which the church of St. George and modern graveyard are situated nowadays. All graves are oriented in the direction SW-NE, wit...

The several decades long rescue excavations of the ancient city of Viminacium have brought to light a large number of finds with very varied functions. In this paper, we will focus our attention on the remains of agricultural tools. They can be grouped according to their application: tools for clearing plants and preparing the soil for cultivation, tools used for tillage, implements for shredding and preparation for planting, as well as those used for mowing, harvesting, soil cleaning, and haymaking. The finds of agricultural tools that we present in this paper, although small in number, represent the most reliable indicators of agricultural activities in the period from the 2nd to the beginning of the 4th century, when Viminacium went through its period of greatest prosperity.

This paper discusses early Christian baptistries in the territory of northern Illyricum, which are dated to the period from the 4th to the beginning of the 7th century. The analysis of architectural shapes, positions and decorative elements makes it possible to define the basic types of baptistries, and their chronological attribution. The results of the analysis provides insight into the local specifics of the rite of baptism itself. Likewise, an attempt has been made to reconstruct the liturgical procedures that accompanied it.

A small inscribed statuette base, found in Pincum (Veliko Gradiste), and belonging to the antiquities collector Imre Pongr?cz, was rediscovered recently in the deposits of the Banat Museum. This fact put in a new light all that we have known so far about this object, which was thought to be lost. The inscription is dedicated to Dulcenus, a form of the name of the deity Iuppiter Dolichenus, by two standard-bearers of the legio VII Claudia. In the upper part of the stone can be seen traces of the four hooves of an ox and the central quadrangular support by which the animal?s body was sustained. The ex voto can be determined chronologically, by the style of the letters and the form of the message, to the 3rd century AD.

During the archaeological excavations performed in 1969/70 at the northern necropolis of Sirmium, around the Basilica of St Synerotes, a few sepulchral slabs with inscriptions and symbols of Early Christian character were discovered. The inscription on one slab, which reads: [?1 ? M]arturiu/[s p]incerna /[C]onstanti/[I]nperatori/[s(!)qui] vixsit(!) an/n[is] nonag/inta una cu/m matron/a sua Man/

A fragmentary marble inscription, preserved in the Museum of Srem in Sremska Mitrovica, seems to mention the basilica of St. Anastasia: [In dom]o beati[ssimae dominae nost]re Anast[asiae. This monument provides epigraphic evidence on the cult place of the martyr in Sirmium, already recorded by written sources. According to the Passion of St. Demetrius, the church of St. Anastasia had already existed in Sirmium when Leontius, praetorian prefect of Illyricum, started the construction of the basilica of St. Demetrius. Although the find spot of the plate is not known, the finds of Ostrogothic coins next to the northern city wall imply that the basilica of St. Anastasia was located in that zone of the city, as the Ostrogoths highly respected the Martyr. It is possible that it should be identified with a martyrium leaning against the northern city wall that had been unearthed and then destroyed at the end of the 19th century.

During the excavation in 2002, in trench 24A in Mediana, a head fragment of a sculpture was discovered, belonging to a life-sized, or possibly slightly larger, sculpture. Analysis of this head indicates that it is of Aesculapius. According to its stylistic features, it can be dated into the very end of the 2nd and the early 3rd century. This find raised the question as to whether there could have been a sanctuary dedicated to Aesculapius or Hygieia in Mediana. In this paper, statuettes of these two deities have been reconsidered, all of them unearthed within the ?villa with peristyle?. New dating has been suggested and it was concluded that the audience hall (triclinium), being the largest room within the villa, was turned into a sanctuary. Its apsis was turned into the most sacred place, separated from the rest of the hall with a bronze railing. The rest of the villa could have been used for the reception of the sick, just as in any other Asclepaion. At the same time, questions reg...

Throughout 2010 and 2011, a systematic nine month archaeological exploration was conducted on the north-eastern, northwestern and south-eastern parts of the villa with peristyle, as well as the area in front of the museum building (see note 8). The envisaged area of exploration was around 1,400 m?. In total, 1,230 m? of this area was thoroughly examined (Fig. 1). The excavations were performed with the aim of defining the dimensions of the north-western and south-western parts of the villa, the appearance of the villa?s entrance, as well as to explore the foundations of the museum building. In the course of the excavations, certain differences were perceived in the stratigraphy of the villa with peristyle and the part excavated outside the villa.

During the archaeological investigation of the villa with peristyle in Mediana in 2011, a marble head, which may have been the head of a goddess, was discovered. Her face and the treatment of her hair show that it may represent a replica of a Hellenistic original. As far as is known, analogies of female marble heads from Mediana show that it probably represented either the goddess Artemis/Diana or Aphrodite/Venus. A hypothesis was made that the head might have been modelled at the end of the 3rd century - 430 A.D. In addition, a hypothesis was made that the base found in 2002, on which was preserved a fragmented head and the tail of a dolphin, and the new found head were parts of the same statue. If this is the case, then the statue can be identified as the type of Capitol Venus, subtype Venus with dolphin.

U clanku je obradjen novac pronadjen u nekoliko celina prilikom iskopavanja izvan bedema palate u Romulijani. Novac iz grobnice iskopane 2005. godine onaj koji je bio citljiv, pripada 3. veku, ali to ne znaci i da je grobnica iz tog vremena, vec je mozda nesto kasnija. Novac iz sonde 1/06 pokazuje neprekinutu cirkulaciju posle 311. godine sve do pocetka 5. veka. Tek uporedjivanje nalaza novca iz unutrasnjosti fortifikacije i ovoga izvan bedema palate dace pravu sliku opticaja novca i nastavka zivota na ovom lokalitetu posle Galerijeve smrti. Novac iz groba u sondi 2/06 je kompaktan. Najstariji je komad kat. br. 17 iz 340-350. godine. Ostalih sest primeraka mogu da se generalno datuju u period izmedju 367. i 378. godine. U taj interval moze da se stavi smrt pokojnika, te datum sahrane ne bi prelazio 378. godinu.

Throughout 2010 and 2011, a systematic nine month archaeological exploration was conducted on the north-eastern, northwestern and south-eastern parts of the villa with peristyle, as well as the area in front of the museum building (see note 8). The envisaged area of exploration was around 1,400 m?. In total, 1,230 m? of this area was thoroughly examined (Fig. 1). The excavations were performed with the aim of defining the dimensions of the north-western and south-western parts of the villa, the appearance of the villa?s entrance, as well as to explore the foundations of the museum building. In the course of the excavations, certain differences were perceived in the stratigraphy of the villa with peristyle and the part excavated outside the villa.

The earliest balsamaria to appear in the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods are ceramic and seldom over 10 cm in height. On the Southern Necropolis of Viminacium (sites Vise grobalja and Pecine) 21 vessels of this type have been found. The features they have in common are a long slender neck and the absence of handles. Based on the shape of their bodies nine groups have been identified. Although they are similar to glass balsamaria, the term bottle seems more appropriate chiefly on account of their size. Of several proposed suggestions about their basic function, the most plausible seems to be that their primary use was as containers for products packed in small amounts. Although most published finds come from burials, the question of their significance and use in funerary rituals remains inadequately elucidated. It is impossible to say with certainty whether the larger-sized vessels of a later date had the same function as the smaller Hellenistic and Early Roman ones. What is cert...

The belt sets of the VTERE FELIX type that were characteristic of the letter-shaped fittings of the mentioned message were in use during the second half of the II and first half of III century. Soldiers, who are considered to be the primary group that wore such belts, believed that such a message would bring them luck and protect them from the many perils of their profession. The numerous finds of fittings of this not so common type of belt sets that were excavated on the Viminacium site, contribute to the already existing theory that their territory of origin is the area of the Danubian provinces.

The remains of an early Christian church were discovered, by chance, during the leveling of the terrain in Otilovici near Pljevlja where there were two monuments, or pyramidal cipi. At the same time, the older Roman necropolis was totally destroyed, so that only the bottoms of tomb holes filled with soot could be seen in the terrain. Following the protected archaeological excavation, the aforementioned church and a small arched tomb by its northern wall were uncovered in full. Another Roman tombstone was found on this occasion, a stela which was used as a stairway from pronaos to naos in the church. The stela belongs to a very large group of tombstones from this part of the province and its compositional schema is a unique example in the area of Pljevlja. From the epigraph we collected the names of four deceased persons (Pletor, Maximina, Victorinus and Statia Fuscina). The name Pletor, which was seen for the first time in the area of Pljevlja on this epigraph, can be added to a lar...

Systematic archaeological excavations at the multicultural site of Foeni-S?la? in the Romanian Banat conducted during the first half of the 1990s uncovered evidence that the site was inhabited during the Early Neolithic, Copper, Bronze, Early Iron, Late Antique and Medieval Ages. This paper summarises the cultural history of the settlement at the site and describes the relevant deposits and material culture in each period.

The accessibility of public facilities and the availability of their content represent a moral imperative and an obligation to society. Unhindered movement and the participation in public and cultural life is a legal obligation under the Constitution and is one of the main postulates of human rights and freedoms. Also, to deny someone education and their creative potential is a violation of various laws. People with disabilities are able to work, earn, produce and engage in all social and economic developments in a country. In economic terms, their potential is huge. The facilitation of access to cultural events and archaeological sites presents a great potential for culture, tourism and economy. The survey on accessibility, conducted with the management of the sites of Mediana, Caricin Grad, Vrelo-Sarkamen, Ravna, Gamzigrad, Viminacijum, Vinca and Sirmium is integrated into this paper.

Zelena glavica je naziv ilirske kultne gradine iz bronce koja je, silom prilika, u kasnom željeznom dobu postala utvrda. Nalazi se na rubu Crvenog jezera zapadno od grada Imotskog. Istu su, nakon pada Delmiona (Imotskog) zauzeli Rimljani. Riječ je o izuzeto važnom arheološkom nalazištu koje nije istraženo.

The prosopomorphic vessels from Moesia Superior had the form of beakers varying in outline but similar in size. They were wheel-thrown, mould-made or manufactured by using a combination of wheel-throwing and mould-made appliqu?s. Given that face vessels are considerably scarcer than other kinds of pottery, more than fifty finds from Moesia Superior make an enviable collection. In this and other provinces face vessels have been recovered from military camps, civilian settlements and necropolises, which suggests that they served more than one purpose. It is generally accepted that the faces-masks gave a protective role to the vessels, be it to protect the deceased or the family, their house and possessions. More than forty of all known finds from Moesia Superior come from Viminacium, a half of that number from necropolises. Although tangible evidence is lacking, there must have been several local workshops producing face vessels. The number and technological characteristics of the dis...

The earliest balsamaria to appear in the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods are ceramic and seldom over 10 cm in height. On the Southern Necropolis of Viminacium (sites Vise grobalja and Pecine) 21 vessels of this type have been found. The features they have in common are a long slender neck and the absence of handles. Based on the shape of their bodies nine groups have been identified. Although they are similar to glass balsamaria, the term bottle seems more appropriate chiefly on account of their size. Of several proposed suggestions about their basic function, the most plausible seems to be that their primary use was as containers for products packed in small amounts. Although most published finds come from burials, the question of their significance and use in funerary rituals remains inadequately elucidated. It is impossible to say with certainty whether the larger-sized vessels of a later date had the same function as the smaller Hellenistic and Early Roman ones. What is cert...

The paper brings the results of archaeological excavations of Mound 28 at the Paulje necropolis, conducted in the autumn of 2019, along with the excavations of two adjacent mounds. All of the aforementioned mounds were partially damaged and eroded through decades of ploughing. Consequently, remains of a Late Bronze Age burial were recorded solely in Mound 28. According to the grave inventory comprised of bronze jewellery and analogies from concurrent necropolises, it is assumed that the burial belongs to a female individual (?). Besides the extraordinary examples of bronze jewellery, such as pins, an arm ring, bracelets, crescent-shaped pendants, torques, and remains of amber jewellery, the organic substructure below the fully cast arm ring has been successfully dated. According to the absolute dating, the jewellery is attributed to the 14th century BC, and the inventory of the grave completely corresponds to the previously dated features from the Paulje necropolis. Therefore, certa...

The stone artefacts from Sirmium, held at the Museum of Srem, were sampled and analyzed in order to establish an archaeological database connected with Roman quarries and possible transport routes along the Sava and Danube Rivers. Of the artefacts made of Neogene limestone three lithotypes were identified. Two of them were determined as originating from the known Roman quarry in the Drina Valley (NE Bosnia). For the third lithotype and its subtypes a model of the hypothetical quarry is proposed, the location of which is suggested to be outside the Drina river basin. Beside limestone, the sampled artefacts also revealed two types of porous volcanoclastic rocks of andesitic composition, which supposedly originate from two different microlocations in the Drina river basin.

Although the artefacts belonging to the so-called Danubian Horsemen cult have been scientifically examined from various standpoints, the definitive answers to the question of their nature have not yet been reached. One of the key reasons that can be distinguished with regard to this is the lack of insight into the archaeological context since, in comparison to the total number of these artefacts, a small percentage of the samples have been found during archaeological excavations. As the more recent corpora of lead icons points to the conclusion that a significant number originates from the area of the province of Pannonia Inferior, especially its south-eastern part (today`s Srem, Macva and Posavina), in this paper we have tried to establish at least the widest context they belonged to. Thus, based on the place where they were found, and considering the basic features of the site where it was possible, we investigated whether they belonged to a settlement, necropolis or military sett...

The author discusses the silver and gold jewelry in the collection of Mr Milutin Misic from Belgrade, which includes several fragmented silver "Scharnier" fibulae, silver beads, two silver rings, and a golden appliqu?. The objects come from an unknown site in the village Nikinci in Srem. The most important items are the fibulae. According to their characteristics size, finish of the head and the catch plate, combination of silver and gold - the "Scharnier" fibulae are unique in their genre and indicate the existence of an important local goldsmith?s workshop in Srem. The dating of the entire find is uncertain because it is not chronologically unique. Two silver rings and raspberry-like beads could belong to the 5th century BC while silver fibulae and beads of silver wire should be most probably dated to the 4th century, Two silver beads - cylindrical and spherical - could possibly belong to the 1st century BC.

During 2005 and 2008, a team from Republic Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute carried out preservative, sondage, archaeological and revision exploration of the Church of Holy Virgin in Gradac monastery. The 2005 exploration aim was to uncover geomorphology and characteristics of soil and its moisture penetration, to make insight in condition of ground zones, uncovering of attached structures and archaeological material, obtaining stratigraphic data, all in purpose of obtaining data for making the Main Project for preserving the Church of Holy Virgin from moisture. The first phase of work started in 2008, and it included work on western, north-western and south-western part of the church. During these explorations, 9 sondages were opened and a drainage pit, in total area of 130 m? and total depth of 3 m. Beside medieval cultural layer and medieval necropolis, a prehistoric layer of 0.5-0.6 m depth was found which was documented with four residential horizons as well with other ...

The locality of Mihajlov ponor on Miroc was discovered at the end of 2004. On that occasion, more than thirty stone constructions were observed, with a diameter from four to 12 m and a height of up to 1.3 m. The majority of these constructions were damaged. In the period from 2005 to 2007, five stone constructions were examined, which, apart from ceramics belonging to the post-Basarabi horizon, were found to contain a large number of metal objects from the Early Iron Age.

Im Laufe arch?ologischer Ausgrabungen 1977 kamen in Sremska Mitrovica, auf der Fundstelle Nr. 56, in einem Geb?ude, dessen Grundriss und Typ nicht festgestellt werden konnten, neben anderen Funden auch mehrere Fragmente an Stuckdekoration zutage. In dieser Studie werden ihre Elemente parallel zu ?hnlichen Motiven, die auf anderen in Sirmium gefundenen Wandmalereien auftreten, betrachtet.

A small inscribed statuette base, found in Pincum (Veliko Gradiste), and belonging to the antiquities collector Imre Pongr?cz, was rediscovered recently in the deposits of the Banat Museum. This fact put in a new light all that we have known so far about this object, which was thought to be lost. The inscription is dedicated to Dulcenus, a form of the name of the deity Iuppiter Dolichenus, by two standard-bearers of the legio VII Claudia. In the upper part of the stone can be seen traces of the four hooves of an ox and the central quadrangular support by which the animal?s body was sustained. The ex voto can be determined chronologically, by the style of the letters and the form of the message, to the 3rd century AD.

During 2005 and 2008, a team from Republic Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute carried out preservative, sondage, archaeological and revision exploration of the Church of Holy Virgin in Gradac monastery. The 2005 exploration aim was to uncover geomorphology and characteristics of soil and its moisture penetration, to make insight in condition of ground zones, uncovering of attached structures and archaeological material, obtaining stratigraphic data, all in purpose of obtaining data for making the Main Project for preserving the Church of Holy Virgin from moisture. The first phase of work started in 2008, and it included work on western, north-western and south-western part of the church. During these explorations, 9 sondages were opened and a drainage pit, in total area of 130 m? and total depth of 3 m. Beside medieval cultural layer and medieval necropolis, a prehistoric layer of 0.5-0.6 m depth was found which was documented with four residential horizons as well with other ...

The locality of Mihajlov ponor on Miroc was discovered at the end of 2004. On that occasion, more than thirty stone constructions were observed, with a diameter from four to 12 m and a height of up to 1.3 m. The majority of these constructions were damaged. In the period from 2005 to 2007, five stone constructions were examined, which, apart from ceramics belonging to the post-Basarabi horizon, were found to contain a large number of metal objects from the Early Iron Age.

This paper presents the results of the mineralogical and chemical analysis made on crystalline schist that covers most of Leaota Mountains. The relief developed on schist substratum must be specific to those mountains, covering, by far, approximately three quarters of their surface. Our studies on the mineralogical composition of crystalline schist are part of a research complex whose main objective is the mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) or shallow subterranean habitats (SSHs) hosted by the scree that covers some slopes of Leaota Mountains. In fact, the scree, through interclastic porosity, through the micro-climate particularities, represents a very interesting and individualized living environment which has an essential ecologic role (Nitzu et al, 2010; Nitzu et al, 2014, Mammola et al, 2017). The microfauna elements, temporarily or permanently hosted by the scree were correlated to the geological substratum type, analyzing the way through which the different geological substrat...