Viminacium

Viminacium
Kostolac Serbia
Ruins of Thermae at Viminacium
Shown within Serbia
Type	Fortification, mixed
Coordinates	44.736980°N 21.225605°E / 44.736980; 21.225605
Built	1th century
Construction materials	Stone
Open to the public	Yes

Viminacium (VIMINACIVM) was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman province of Moesia (today's Serbia), and the capital of Moesia Superior. The site is located 12 km from the modern town of Kostolac in Eastern Serbia. The city dates back to the 1st century AD, and at its peak it is believed to have 40.000 inhabitants, and was one of the biggest cities of that time. It lies on the Roman road Via Militaris. Viminacium was devastated by Huns in the 5th century, but rebuilt by Justinian. It was completely destroyed with the arrival of Slavs in the 6th century. The archeological site occupies a total of 450 hectares, and contains remains of temples, streets, squares, amphitheatres, palaces, hippodromes and Roman baths.

History

A XXV the scene of the Trajan's Column, which may have been accounted for "headquarters" of the Roman Emperor: Viminacium.

Skeletons of mother and children died of plague in the Roman city of Viminacium around 251 AD, buried together in the noble part of Viminacium graveyard.

Remains of Viminacium, capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, located on the territory of the village of Stari Kostolac and Drmno, 12 km from Kostolac and about 90 miles southeast of Belgrade. Viminacium was one of the most important Roman cities and military camps in the period from 1st to 4th century. Its exceptional strategic importance was reflected both in the defense of the northern border of the Roman empire and in turn of communications and commercial transactions. No less appealing to the Romans was the hinterland of the valley Mlava rich ore and grains. In Roman times the town on the northern side of relying directly on the branch of the Danube, while the western side, touching the walls Mlava rivers. Only in the later period, Viminacium spread to the left bank Mlava. Thanks to the location, land and waterways, Viminacium represented one of those areas where the encounter of cultures between East and West was inevitable. Although these roads were the primary military and strategic function, they are taking place throughout antiquity very lively traffic and certainly contributed to the very Viminacium become prosperous and an important trading and business headquarters. In Viminacium, Roman legion VII Claudia was stationed, and a nearby civilian settlement emerged from the military camp. In 117 during the reign of Hadrian it received city status. In the camp, 6.000 soldiers were stationed, and 30-40.000 lived nearby. In the first half of the 3rd century the city was in full development, as evidenced by the fact that at that time it acquired the status of a Roman colony, and the right to coin local money. Here, in 211, Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by his son Caracalla. In the mausoleum and the excavated tombs, the Roman emperor Hostilian, who died in 251, was buried.

A legion may have been stationed here as early as Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). In 33/34 AD a road was built, linking Viminacium and Ratiaria. Claudius (41-54) garrisoned Viminacium, Oescus and Novae as camps for the Moesian legions.

The first legion attested at Viminacium was the VII Claudia that came from Dalmatia in 52 AD .

Emperor Trajan (98-117) was headquartered here during the Dacian Wars. It became a colonia with minting privilege in 239 AD during the rule of Gordian III (238-244) and housed the Legion VII and Legion IV.

Emperor Hostilian was the son of the emperor Decius, who was killed in the ambush near the ancient city of Abrutus located in present day Bulgaria. According to the old manuscript, emperor Hostilian and his mother came to Viminacium to supervise the organization of defense of northern borders, but both of them died of the plague. Because of the distance and the fear of spreading the plague, he was buried with all honors in Viminacium.^{[citation needed]}

Viminacium was the provincial capital of Moesia Superior. In the late spring of 293-294 Diocletian journeyed through his realm and he re-organized Viminacium as capital of the new province of Moesia Superior Margensis. He registered that the people wrote in Latin, as opposed to Greek in the southern provinces. Viminacium was the base camp of Legio VII Claudia, and hosted for some time the IIII Flavia Felix. It had a Roman amphitheatre with room for 12,000 people.

In 382 the city was the meeting place between Theodosius and Gratian amidst the Gothic Wars.

Viminacium was destroyed in 441 by the Attila the Hun, but rebuilt by Justinian I. During Maurice's Balkan campaigns, Viminacium saw destruction by the Avars in 582 and a crushing defeat of Avar forces on the northern Danube bank in 599, destroying Avar reputation for invincibility.

Location and excavation

Valerian AD 253-260. AR Antoninianus. Viminacium mint. 1st emission, 1st phase, AD 253.

Viminacium is located in Stari Kostolac (Old Kostolac) a Serbian town on the Danube river, east of Belgrade. Viminacium was a place where the first archaeological excavation in Serbia was made. It was in 1882, and it was started by Mihailo Valtrović, an architect by profession and first professor of archeology at the College in Belgrade, with the help of 12 prisoners because the state did not have enough resources to provide him with a better work force. His research has continued Miloje Vasić, rebuilt in the seventies of the last century and intensified in the last ten years, and that the area of the Roman city of the Roman legionary camps and cemeteries. Many studies suggest that the camp had Viminacium rectangular plan, measuring 442 x 385 meters, and that is not far from its western wall of civilian settlement in an area of approximately 72 acres. Legionary camp in Viminacium is now in a layer of arable land, so that wealth Viminacium easily accessible to researchers, but, unfortunately, and the robbers.The National Museum in Belgrade and Požarevac kept some 40,000 items found in Viminacium, of which over 700 made of gold and silver. Among them are many objects that represent the European and world rarities invaluable.

It has been discovered and more than 13,500 graves. Tombstones and sarcophagi are often decorated with relief representations of scenes from mythology or daily life. We have found numerous grave masonry construction. Especially interesting are the frescoes of the 4th century tombs. Fresco with the notion of young women in artistic value of the extreme range of late antique art. During the excavation, an amphitheater, which with its 12,000 seats was one of the largest in the Balkans.

Archeological site

• A 5 million year old mammoth skeleton was uncovered in the Viminacium site in June 2009.

• A remarkable find of a 35 centimetre jade sculpture. The work shows the possibility of a workshop existent under the Roman era.

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  City of Viminacium in the 4th century

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  Antoninianus struck in Viminacium mint under Pacatianus to celebrate the 1001 birthday of Rome.

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  The Roman provinces on the lower Danube and the main roads

• In June 2012,excavation revealed gladiator arena with many wild animals remains - those of a bear and of a camel. Skeleton of a bear dates from 2nd century AC when many competitive games were held in amfitheatre.The bear almost certainly died during spectacle, whether fighting with another animal or with a man. Camel died about a century after.Also,excavation revealed mamooth graveyard, unique in the world.
• June 21, 2012 archaeologists have discovered Roman graveyard from 2nd and 3rd century AD with remarkable discoveries - extremely valuable pieces of fine jewelry as well as oil lamps which served to illuminate the way to the other world for the deceased ones.Also they found many more interesting objects.Not far from this necropolis excavation showed a mysterious "industrial complex" with remains of enormous furnaces which purpose is yet to be discovered

Bibliography

• Milkovic, Jasmina, Viminacium - city reborn, M.A. diss., Corcoran College of Art + Design, 2011, 70 pages; AAT 1506363.

See also

• Kostolac Airport
• Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance

External links

For more information, visit the official site of Viminacium

• A Jewel of National and World Heritage - Viminacium
• Viminacium
• The coins
• Coin info
• more coin information
• The mint of Viminacium
• Project Viminacium
• Inscriptions de la Mésie supérieure
• Serbia unearths major new tourist attraction
• Wilkes, J., R. Talbert, T. Elliott, S. Gillies. "Places: 207549 (Viminacium)". Pleiades. Retrieved March 8, 2012.