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What can we learn from building materials? Production of Roman mortars along the Danube limes in Serbia
No full textHistorical building materials are important testimonies of the past, whether they are simply shaped or created from several other materials. Among the most studied are the Roman lime mortars, on which a great deal of focus in the international scientific community has been placed in the last two decades, thus making them a source of knowledge important for a large number of scientific fields. In addition, this knowledge is valuable for the process of preparing compatible conservation mortars, as well as the production of modern building materials in the light of preservation, environmental protection and the circular economy
Osteološki materijal sa Brskova
No full textHumani osteološki materijal sa lokaliteta Brskovo–Doganjice potiče iz kosturnice smještene u Sakristiji Saške crkve i sa→nekropole ispod i sjeverno od nje. Sekundarno pohranjeni osteološki ostaci u kosturnici su arheološki istraživani 2017–2019. godine.
Istraživanje nekropole unutar sakristije sprovedeno je 2019. i 2020. (grobovi 1–45), а tokom 2021. i 2022. sprovedeno je istraživanje u sondi sjeverno od sakristije (grobovi 46–149)
Osteološki materijal sa Bjelovina
No full textTokom 2013. i 2014. sprovedena su zaštitna istraživanja zapadne nekropole na lokalitetu Bjelovine. Analiza je urađena na skeletnom materijalu koji je iskopan 2013. godine. Paleodemografska analiza je pokazala da je na istraženom dijelu nekropole bilo sahranjeno 112 individua: 28 (25%) dječijih individua, 39 (34,8%) individua ženskog pola, 38 (33,9%) individua muškog pola i sedam (6,3%%) odraslih individua kojima pol i starost nijesu mogli da se odrede
Osteološki materijal sa Prevlake
No full textTokom arheoloških istraživanja ostataka manastira i nekropole, 2010. i 2011. istražene su 246 grobne cjeline. Antropološka analiza je pokazala da su u grobovima pored primarne sahrane prisutni i osteološki ostaci drugih individua, što svjedoči o intezivnom sahranjivanju na ovom prostoru. Ukupan broj analiziranih individua iznosio je 465
Arheološka iskopavanja na lokalitetu Vrelo – Šarkamen kod Negotina u 2022. godini
No full textU cilju konzervacije i prezentacije utvrđenja carske rezidencije tetrarha Maksimina Daje, u kampanji arheoloških istraživanja 2022. godine, tokom jula i avgusta, nastavljena su iskopavanja na prostoru zapadnog bedema, odnosno deo zapadnog bedema od južne kule zapadne kapije, kule 1, do jugozapadne kule utvrđenja, kule 10. Cilj ove kampanje istraživanja je bio dalje otkrivanje ka jugu zapadnog bedema i prostorija duž njegovog unutrašnjeg lica. Južno od sonde 16/2022 postavljena je sonda 17/2022, pravca istok -zapad, dimenzija 10 x 5 m. U ovoj sondi istražena je prostorija 8 (sl. 2), koja se nadovezuje na prostoriju 7 iz prethodne sonde. Delimično je istražen ulaz u jugozapadnu kulu utvrđenja, kulu 10, i otvori četiri prozora na njenom prvom spratu. Što se tiče novih arheoloških podataka, izuzetno je važno da je i ovogodišnjim istraživanjima potvrđena hipoteza da je duž unutrašnjosti bedema utvrđene carske rezidencije postojao niz prostorija razne namene
LIMES INVISIBILIS – INVISIBLE FRONTIER - Quest for the Frontier lost in Danube
No full textA long time ago in early 1970 dam of the Hydroelectric Power plant
Djerdap I was about to be finished. The level of Danube Water rose
dramatically filling the new accumulation lake. Water poured over the
ancient walls and roads. Sites in the Iron Gate were going down. For
more than a decade team of archaeologists have been trying to excavate
as much as possible, beyond all odds and aware that whatever they do
it will not be enough. Dozens of sites were submerged of which at least
26 belong to the period of Roman domination and were related to the
Limes - chain of forts, fortlets and other military installations defending
the Empire from barbarian threats across the river. The most beautiful
section of the Roman frontiers was lost in the Danube.
For 2000 years the Roman frontier stood firmly, outliving the empires
only to fail against modern development. Institute of Archaeology in its
transformation to the National institute of the Republic of Serbia started
new daring projects. Within the UNESCO nomination project archaeologists
are going back into the depths of the Iron Gate since 2020,
50 years after of creation of the accumulation lake. A team of archaeologists
from the Institute of Archaeology, experts from CODA Company
and KPA Divers club (Klub podvodnih aktivnosti) started joint effort
to survey the now underwater sites. No one could foresee whether forts
still exist, were they destroyed or buried in mud.
With just a basic SONAR and experienced divers, a small flotilla of
boats departed into the gorge. The water was muddy all the time, with
low visibility, and the team used more SONAR that divers to investigate.
Navigated by GPS and SONAR with help of local fisherman five
locations were originally selected out of 26 Roman sites that are submerged.
Majority of team claimed that nothing remained. The Danube
is a strong river and it must have destroyed everything. But forts started
to emerge almost immediately. On depths between 5- and 10-meters
ramparts and buildings appeared. Imperial tablets from the 1st century
and road cut into the steep cliffs of the gorge appeared in water line or
immediately below it perfectly preserved. Although we thought that it
was lost, the oldest imperial inscription in Moesia Superior - Tiberius
tablet (33/34 AD) celebrating achievements of the Legions IIII Scythica
and V Macedonica and building of the famous roman road, still stands
cut into the cliffs of the gorge.
Location of the forts were reestablished and corrected due to mistakes
in positioning back in 1960-ties. All surveyed sites were excavated, well
documented and abandoned. No actions were taken to protect the sites
before submerging.
State of preservation was established at sites Gospođin Vir, Bosman,
Čezava, Boljetin, Ravna, Hajdučka vodenica. While Bosman is almost
completely filled with mud deposits, Boljetin site is clear and visible
with clearly preserved architectural remains. Čezava, that is partially
submerged has the best presentation potential. Although Boljetin, being
completely submerged and at considerable depth, is at a touristically
very attractive location and the divers are very eager to continue
activities at the site. The constant problem for years now is extremely
low visibility, that makes effectiveness of divers very low. Together with
rapidly increasing pollution and piling up of natural and man-made
waste materials after floodings in central Europe and Balkan countries
situation is worsening every year.
Institute of Archaeology formed the Underwater Archaeology Unit that
is to take over future actions on the rivers in Serbia. Unit is part of
the Center for Roman Limes based at Viminacium. New surveys are
planned for 2025 as well as divers’ collection of samples from architectural
remains to establish deterioration of materials after being 50+
years in water and under rising pollution. Institute acquired Hi-Target
2-frequency SONAR to establish mud and pollution deposits over the
archaeological sites. Acquisition of the multibeam sonar is planned in
the following years
(Un)usually Lavish Sarcophagus from Viminacium
No full textRecent excavations at Viminacium resulted in the discovery of an intact sarcophagus. It housed the remains of two individuals, a male and a female, probably members of the family that owned the nearby villa rustica. Gold and silver objects, as well as jet hairpins belonging to the female deceased, brought forward the possibility that she died before getting married, or at least before bearing children to whom she could bequeath the jewellery. In various cultures, burials of such individuals differ from the norm, and as such, they should be easily recognised in the archaeological record. "Exceptionally lavish" graves from the Roman period were identified in recent scholarly articles as the resting places of young women and girls denied of marriage or childbirth. A more scrutinous study of grave assemblage from Viminacium, accompanied by a DNA analysis, showed that lavishness cannot be the sole factor for attributing a burial to this group, and that the full contextual approach is needed
The Early Bronze Age Grave From The Site of Svinjarička Čuka. New Data on Burial Customs and Cultural Interactions of the Early Bronze Age in the Central Balkans.
No full textDuring the excavations of the multi-layered prehistoric site of Svinjarička Čuka in south-eastern Serbia, a single burial
was recorded. According to the grave goods, the burial custom, and an absolute date, the burial can be positioned into the second
half of the 3rd millennium BC. The remains of the deceased female individual were recorded within a stone cist, accompanied by
pieces of gold jewellery and red ochre. Altogether, the burial custom and its architecture are quite uncommon for this region
during the Early Bronze Age and, so far, represent a unique find within the South Morava valley and the neighbouring regions.
This study provides a detailed interpretation of the grave, along with the anthropological analyses of the deceased and the analyses
of the chemical-physical composition of the gold objects
The Trikala ceramic workshop: Exploring a production centre of Ottoman Greece
No full textThis paper discusses the production technology of glazed pottery, wasters, and tripods found in the context of a ceramic workshop in Trikala, central-north Greece, dated to the Ottoman period (15th-17th centuries). This ceramic workshop was unearthed at the site ‘Asklipieion’ and was likely part of a large production facility that operated continuously between the Late Byzantine and Late Ottoman periods. Ceramics presented in this paper were found in a kiln and a waste pit. The initial macroscopic examination was conducted to classify and quantify ceramics. Based on the observed variability, twenty-eight samples were selected for petrographic and chemical analyses. The petrographic results showed that three fabrics can be distinguished. Chemical analysis focused on the slips and glazes, showing that all vessels, regardless of fabric, were decorated with non-calcareous slips and high-lead glazes. Ceramic vessels, separated by tripods, were double-fired in the updraft kilns
Post-Butchery Use of Faunal Remains: Evidence from Late Antique Site 97 in Novi Kneževac, Serbia
No full textThis study explores the use of animal bones as tools at Site 97 in Novi Kneževac (northern Banat, Serbia), based on faunal remains recovered during rescue excavations conducted in 2023. The assemblage, dated to the 3rd–5th centuries CE and most likely associated with Sarmatian occupation, comprises a wide range of species, including mammals, birds, fish, mollusks, reptiles, and amphibians. Special attention is given to animal bones that show clear traces of anthropogenic intervention. These primarily include the long bones of large mammals, especially cattle and horses, which were repurposed after initial butchery for secondary use. Tool marks, smoothed surfaces, and evidence of shaping or polishing indicate utilitarian use, most likely as implements involved in everyday tasks. These findings will be discussed in light of comparable data from the region to explore possible patterns of animal bone modification and use in late antique contexts. This analysis contributes to our understanding of the full biographical cycle of animal remains in late antique settlements, emphasizing the intersection of subsistence practices and technological behavior