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56-592: The site is located 12 km (7.5 mi) 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 had 40,000 inhabitants, making it one of the biggest cities in the Balkans of that time. It lies on the Roman road Via Militaris . Viminacium was devastated by Huns in the 5th century, but was later rebuilt by Justinian . It

112-439: A dog, which symbolizes justice, grace, peace, and truth. The Pagan is depicted in red color, climbing to the heaven, and then transform in the rider which is blue. It is estimated to be painted in the 3rd century. Artisan shops with the furnaces for baking bricks were discovered, so as the thermae. Six pools were uncovered, which were decorated with the floral and animal motifs. It was a steambath , with hot air circulating between

168-533: A famous Mona Lisa and local archaeologists named it "Divina". The woman is dressed in a gold- hemmed dress, indicating high social status. "Divina" is the centerpiece of the tomb and probably represents the woman who was buried in it. Tomb No. 5517 has an unusual representation of the Heavenly Rider and the Christogram . In front of the rider there is a turquoise panther with wide open jaws. Behind

224-406: A large iron anchor was discovered, but was stolen the same night it was dug it up. In February 2020, a hewn boat ( monoxyl ) was found at the same locality. Just a month later, the discovery of the buried ship in the same former riverbed was announced. It was located 500 m (1,600 ft) west of the previous discovery. The ship was discovered at the depth of 7 to 8 m (23 to 26 ft). It

280-559: A millennium old, previously unrecorded, shipbuilding tradition which both predated and survived Viminacium. Even larger ship, estimated to be over 20 metres (66 ft) long, was dredged by an excavator in the Danube's fossil riverbed in July 2023. It was located in the sand silt. at the depth of 8 metres (26 ft). It was partially damaged by the excavator, but the remains were in excellent condition. With growing number of discovered vessels,

336-453: A restaurant with dining hall and SPA center in the form of a Roman bath. There are also bedrooms available for researchers, students and visitors. One of the most spectacular features is a large conference room decorated by a Serbian mosaicist who installed mosaics based on Late Antique style. The bedrooms are styled after the Roman military barracks and have six beds in one room. The complex became an archaeological congressional center, labeled

392-640: Is a town in Serbia and one of two city municipalities which constitute the City of Požarevac . It is situated on the Danube river. The remains of Viminacium , the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, are located near Stari Kostolac some 2 km to the east of Kostolac. Kostolac is also a center of area called Stig and home of thermal power plants and coal mines. A 1.5 million year old mammoth skeleton

448-678: Is considered the first donation in Serbia given to the exploration of the Antiquity. It has intensified in the last ten years in the area of the Roman city of the Roman legionary camps and cemeteries. Many studies suggest that the military camp at Viminacium had a rectangular plan, measuring 442 m × 385 m (1,450 ft × 1,263 ft), and that is not far from its western wall of civilian settlement in an area of approximately 72 acres (29 ha). The Legionary camp in Viminacium

504-545: Is considered the successor of both Viminacium and Horreum Margi . The archdiocese was nominally restored in 1925 as a Latin Catholic Metropolitan titular archbishopric Viminacium (Latin) / Viminacio (Curiate Italian) The title has been held by: For more information, visit the official site of Viminacium Kostolac The City municipality of Kostolac ( Serbian Cyrillic : Градска општина Костолац , romanized :  Gradska opština Kostolac

560-486: Is estimated that the city had 40,000 inhabitants at its peak. Human remains show mixture of different people. Facial reconstruction has been performed on several skulls for the purpose of the 2018 exhibition "Roman Limes and cities in Serbia" in the gallery of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts prepared by the archaeologist and forensic anthropologist Ilija Mikić. Remains show that the population belonged to

616-449: Is extremely well preserved thanks to the specific conditions and high moisture. It is the flatbed ship, built for the shallow waters. The casing for the mast of the auxiliary sail also survived, so as the rudder , stern and the square rowlock for the stern oar . Preserved part of the ship is 9.5 m (31 ft) long, but it is estimated that the entire ship was 15 m (49 ft) long and 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) wide. It

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672-614: Is now in an area of arable land, so that Viminacium is easily accessible to researchers, but unfortunately also to robbers. Over 700 artefacts made of silver and gold have been uncovered in the tombs. The National Museum in Belgrade and Požarevac have a total of 40,000 items found in Viminacium. Among them are many objects that are rare and invaluable. The 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

728-412: Is the only such find in Serbia. It will be fully reconstructed, including the missing parts, and exhibited with two monoxyls. In April 2021, discovery of other vessels was announced. They were discovered in the former arm of the Danube, buried 7 metres (23 ft) deep into the clay sediments, which indicated a period older than Viminacium's golden age. The largest ship is 19 metres (62 ft) long, and

784-523: The Avars and Slavs in 584 and a crushing defeat of Avar forces on the northern Danube bank in 599, destroying Avar reputation for invincibility. Đorđe Vajfert opened coal mines in Kostolac. During World War II, Germans constructed first power plant "Mali Kostolac" ("small Kostolac"). After the war, people from everywhere came to build it. Aside from the town of Kostolac, the city municipality includes

840-518: The "Roman way", like cremations or planting grapevines. The Limes Park, a recreated Roman training ground was finished in September 2018 while the adjoining adventure park was open in December 2018. It covers an area of 2 ha (4.9 acres) and consists of 48 attractions. In 2017 Viminacium had 100,000 visitors, the largest number of tourists in its history. Of that number, 17,000 came via boats as

896-453: The "congressional (military) camp" which includes the central plaza, two debating halls and the large dining room patterned after the Roman military mess halls . When not used for the scientific gatherings, the part of the complex adapts into the "Roman children camp", with the adjoining adventure park partially made after the Roman training grounds for the legionaries. Some of the experiments include attempts to recreate other practices done in

952-401: The 1st to the 3rd century a wide medical network existed in the camp as hospitals in the military camps were regulated by the law. Remains of the surgical instruments and equipment for the medication production were discovered (vessels, mortars ). In one of such bowls, discovered in the office of an eye doctor in 1985, the pastilles survived and had an imprinted inscription which explained that

1008-413: The 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 13,637 inhabitants. Herennia Etruscilla Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla was Roman empress as the wife of Emperor Decius . She was the mother of Emperors Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian . As with most third-century Roman empresses, very little is known about her. The date and place of her birth are not known for certain. She

1064-592: The Balkans in the 1st century AD. Viminacium , a major city of the Roman province of Moesia , and the capital of Moesia Superior was situated 20 km east to the present centre, in the area of Stari Kostolac (Old Kostolac). Viminacium was the base camp of Legio VII Claudia , and hosted for some time the IV Flavia Felix . It was destroyed in 440 by the Huns , but rebuilt by Justinian I . During Maurice's Balkan campaigns , Viminacium saw destruction by

1120-482: The Mlava river – though later on, Viminacium spread onto the left bank of the 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 the primary functions of its roads and other transport links were military and strategic, they also provided very lively traffic throughout antiquity, and certainly contributed to

1176-476: The Roman Danube fleet was anchored at Viminacium. As the locality is not situated on any modern watercourse, either the Danube was flowing further to the south than it does today, or some large arm was separating from the main flow in this direction, leaving the modern fossil riverbed which yields numerous navy artifacts. In 2019, at the old mouth of the Mlava into the Danube (today Drmno coal surface mine )

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1232-453: The Viminacium project, archaeologist Miomir Korać stated in April 2018 that only 3 to 4% of the site had been explored so far. Viminacium has been geophysically explored since the mid-1990s. Thanks to this, the existence of numerous objects was confirmed, but as of 2018 they were still not uncovered: hippodrome , forum, imperial palace, several temples, theater, etc. There is evidence that from

1288-421: The capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior , are located in the territories of the villages of Stari Kostolac and Drmno, about 12 km from the town of Kostolac and about 90 miles southeast of modern Belgrade . Viminacium was one of the most important Roman cities and military camps in the period from the 1st to the 4th centuries. Its exceptional strategic importance was reflected in its roles both in

1344-523: The college in Belgrade, but himself a non-professional archaeologist (he was an architect). The only help he received was from twelve prisoners for manual work, because the state did not have enough resources to provide him with a better work force. His research was continued by Miloje Vasić , the first Serbian trained archaeologist, in the mid 1890s. Serbian Queen Draga Obrenović visited the site and donated 100 gold ducats for further excavations, which

1400-446: The colonnettes and warming the bricks below the floor slabs. Massage rooms occupied the central section of the thermae. Lanterns were discovered in the facility, pointing that the night bathing was possible. The water was conducted using the natural fall via an aqueduct . 10 km (6.2 mi) of aqueduct have been explored so far. The water was not naturally thermal, so it was heated. Floors and walls were luxuriously crafted, including

1456-579: The construction of the Museum of Ships within the complex began. Domus scientiarum Viminacium is a new scientific, research and tourist center built on the edge of the Archaeological park. The Domus was constructed in the manner of a Roman villa, with rooms and laboratories grouped around several atria. The Domus hosts an archaeological museum, a scientific library, laboratories for processing archaeological finds, an information center, conference rooms,

1512-566: The defense of the Limes Moesiae (northern border) of the Roman empire and, resulting from this, as a major communications and commercial hub. No less appealing to the Romans was its hinterland in the Mlava river valley, which is rich in ore and grains. In Roman times, the defenses of the town on the northern side directly faced on a southern branch of the Danube , and on the western side,

1568-702: The doctors were treating cataract and trachoma . This discovery is considered the most important medical-pharmaceutical find in Serbia and it shows that the science-based medicine and pharmacy developed before Galen , who is considered the father of scientific medicine. Additionally, there are only four other findings of the survived Roman medicaments in Europe ( Lyon and Rheims in France , Morlungo locality at Padua in Italy , Cologne in Germany ). Chemical examination of

1624-466: The dressing rooms. Children were prohibited from entering. However, the water in the pools was not being changed and water chlorination was unknown at the time, so the thermae and the unhygienic public toilets were source of diseases. In 1980 the Sevso Treasure affair broke out, when Hungary , Yugoslavia and Lebanon contested the ownership over the silver objects hoard which appeared on

1680-416: The epidemic, in which her son Hostilian died, retained the role of Augusta, despite any familial ties to Gallus and lived until 253 AD, corresponding to the end of his reign. While information about her is scarce, coins with her portrait are numerous and easy to obtain. Legends on coins struck at Rome only ever give her name as 'Herennia Etruscilla' but billon tetradrachms struck at Alexandria supply

1736-476: The fear of spreading the plague, his body was buried with all honors in Viminacium, rather than transported to Rome. 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 the capital of the new province of Moesia Superior Margensis . He registered that the people here wrote in Latin, as opposed to Greek in

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1792-491: The following settlements: In Kostolac is the archaeological site of Viminacium , a former Roman outpost with wide streets, luxurious villas, extensive baths and an amphitheater, just recently opened to the public. Kostolac has two thermal power plants which comprise the TPP Kostolac . These are: In addition to electric power, TPP "Kostolac A" produces heating energy for heating of Kostolac and Požarevac. According to

1848-517: The frescoes of the 4th-century tombs. The frescos of young women have high artistic value as examples of Roman art. During the excavation, an amphitheater was discovered, which with its 12,000 seats was one of the largest in the Balkans . One specific fresco of a young woman is labeled the jewel of Viminacium and the most beautiful fresco of the Late Antiquity. The fresco resembles somewhat

1904-528: The market. Yugoslav journalists began an investigation which lasted for years. It was discovered that numerous artifacts were smuggled and illegally sold outside of Yugoslavia. Though the Sevso Treasure itself was not from this site, Viminacium, due to the poor maintenance and low protection at the time, was specifically named as the find which "enriched many foreign collections with the valuable artifacts, sold below their true value". The chief manager of

1960-402: The medication contains saffron extract. There were 8 instruments in the bronze box ( tweezers , scalpels, needles, cataract needles, stone palette, glass balsamarium ). The pastilles were kept in the arch-shaped cartridges, and themselves were round, flat and spindle. The instruments barely differ from the modern ones and based on that, and the composition of the medicaments, it is believed that

2016-599: The medicines began in 2019 by the experts from the Sorbonne's Laboratory for the Molecular and Structural Archaeology. After its completion, the lab will try to recreate two written medical recipes discovered in Viminacium: collyria crocodes and collyria stactum . Additionally, there is also evidence of trepanation , surgical procedure of skull opening. According to the Roman document Notitia Dignitatum , part of

2072-542: The pier for the tourists have been constructed. The international passenger port "Kostolac" is under construction in the nearby town, and should be finished by the late 2021 or early 2022. In July 2021, the Archaeological Park Viminacium was given the administration over the port. The port became operational on 1 April 2022. Since 2018, an annual theatrical festival "Viminacijum Fest" is being held in Kostolac and Viminacium Archaeological Park. It

2128-582: The rider is a running dog, colored in dark red, with the dark blue contour. The trees are painted in the dark and light blue colors, in the manner of the Garden of Eden. Though purportedly depicting a hunting scene, it actually symbolically shows the transformation of paganism into Christianity. The rider is placed between a panther, which in Christian iconography depicts sin, cruelty, and the Antichrist, and

2184-618: The rule of Gordian III (238–244), and housed the Legion VII and Legion IV. Other Roman emperors who visited Viminacium include Philip the Arab , Trebonianus Gallus , Constantine the Great and Julian the Apostate . The crypt in the mausoleum is believed to be the imperial tomb of the emperor Hostilian , who briefly ruled and died in 251. Hostilian was the son of the emperor Decius , who

2240-604: The southern provinces. Viminacium was the base camp of Legio VII Claudia , and hosted for some time the Legio IIII Flavia Felix . At the time, the city had an amphitheatre with capacity for 12,000 people. In 382 the city was the meeting place between Theodosius and Gratian amidst the Gothic War . Per Notitia Dignitatum , Viminacium hosted the section of the Roman Danube fleet . Viminacium

2296-411: The total of seven vessels was discovered, in various shapes and sizes. Some pottery was found, too. Carbon dating showed that the oldest ships were from the 1st century B.C., while some originate from the 15th and 17th century. They were all made of oak, and the iron cramps used to bind the wood survived. The recent ship discoveries point to the former, apparently abundant, oak forests in the area, and over

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2352-526: The two groups mixed rather than made war and this resulted in the lower Morava valley becoming a Celto-Thracio-Illyrian interaction zone. The Celtic Invasions of Greece in 279 BC formed the sub-Celtic group of Scordisci who would according to Strabo, defeat and push the powerful Triballians towards the Getae , the Scordisci self-rule in different regions of Serbia gradually ended with the Roman conquest of

2408-476: The tying up of children's heads. The elongation was deemed very beautiful and desirable. Mikić also stated that, based on the numerous skeletons, the average life span in Viminacium was 35 years, while the average height was 165 cm (65 in) for men and 155 cm (61 in) for women. As provincial capital of Moesia Prima, Viminacium also became a Metropolitan archbishopric, presumably from about 300 to circa 400. The Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Braničevo

2464-591: The various types, like the Mediterranean, but also the unusual for this region like the Nordic or the Black . Some of this different faces were reconstructed. Other important findings include the skulls with the full sets of teeth or the elongated skulls. Though immediately labeled "alien" by the public, they are actually product of the special technics for the artificial cranial deformation , which would start with

2520-496: The way in which Viminacium became prosperous and an important trading and business center. The town began as a military camp. 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 , in modern-day Bulgaria. Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) garrisoned Viminacium, Oescus and Novae as camps for the Moesian legions. The first legion attested at Viminacium

2576-453: Was completely destroyed with the arrival of Slavs in the 6th century. Today, the archaeological site occupies a total of 450 hectares (1,100 acres), and contains remains of temples, streets, squares, amphitheatres, palaces, hippodromes and Roman baths. Viminacium holds the distinction of having the largest number of graves discovered in any Roman archaeological site. As of 2023, 16,000 graves have been discovered. The remains of Viminacium,

2632-475: Was definitely a war ship as it has remains of the rostrum . Two monoxyls were discovered next to it. Exact dating will be conducted applying the C4 carbon fixation technique. The geologist will survey the dug to establish the timeline when the river was flowing through here. Though suggested that the ship may be even prehistoric, everything points to the Roman type of ship (Roman, Byzantine, early medieval). The ship

2688-579: Was destroyed in 441 by Attila the Hun , but rebuilt by Justinian I (527–565). During Maurice's Balkan campaigns in the late 6th century, Viminacium saw destruction by the Avars in 582 and a crushing defeat of Avar forces on the northern Danube bank in 599, which destroyed Avar reputation for invincibility. Despite its strategic position, and generally good conditions of living (wide streets, villas, multi-storey buildings, large and numerous public buildings (thermae, temples, amphitheater), river port), Viminacium

2744-497: Was elected as emperor in June 251 AD. In order to gain popular support, Trebonianus Gallus retained Herennia Etruscilla as Augusta (empress-mother) and elevated Hostilian to Augustus , making him co-emperor alongside Trebonianus Gallus himself. Hostilian died in July 251, either from a plague or murder, after which Trebonianus Gallus' son Volusianus , was raised to Augustus . In November 251 AD, Herennia survived

2800-481: Was in full development, evidenced by the fact that at that time it acquired the status of a Roman colony, and the right to mint local money. It was here in 196 AD that Septimius Severus declared his son Caracalla as his successor and the next "Caesar" . Emperor Trajan (98–117 AD) was headquartered here during the Dacian Wars between 101 and 106. It became a colonia with minting privilege in 239 AD, during

2856-478: Was killed in an ambush near the ancient city of Abrutus located in present-day Bulgaria. According to 5th-century Greek historian Zosimus , emperor Hostilian and his mother Herennia Etruscilla had come to Viminacium to supervise the organization of defense of the empire's northern borders, but both died there due to the Plague of Cyprian which ravaged the empire in the 250s. Because of the far distance from Rome, and

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2912-493: Was never repopulated. Viminacium is located in Stari Kostolac (Old Kostolac) a Serbian town on the Danube river, east of Belgrade . The site spans 450 hectares. It is estimated that approximately 5% has been excavated. Viminacium was the location of the first archaeological excavation in Serbia, which started in 1882, by Mihailo Valtrović , founder of archaeology in Serbia and the first professor of archeology at

2968-445: Was partially embedded into the sand, alluvial sediment of the river, and partially into the marshy clay sediment, when the river changed its course and the remaining oxbow lake turned into the swamp. Layers above the ship were also mixed, including loess brought by the wind, and solidified mud from frequent flooding. It was excavated, and partially damaged, by the large excavator , when the planks were spotted in its bucket. The ship

3024-530: Was probably from a senatorial family of Herennia gens . It is assumed that her ancestors settled in Etrurian lands. Herennia married Decius probably before 230, therefore, Herennia was born in early 3rd century AD. She gained the title Augusta when Decius became emperor in 249 AD. After the death of both Decius and Herennius Etruscus in the Battle of Abritus , Trebonianus Gallus , the governor of Moesia ,

3080-471: Was the Legio VII Claudia that came from Dalmatia in 52 AD. A nearby civilian settlement emerged from the military camp. In 117 AD, during the reign of Hadrian , it received city status. Hadrian visited Viminacium and organized hunting parties. In the camp itself some 6,000 soldiers were stationed, with around 30,000–40,000 people living nearby. In the earlier half of the 3rd century, the city

3136-519: Was uncovered in the Viminacium site in June 2009. A Neolithic Kostolac culture is named after the town. The tribes of Autariatae and Scordisci are thought to have merged into one in this area after 313BC, since excavations show that the two groups made burials at the same exact grave field in Pecine , near Kostolac. Nine graves of Autariatae dating to 4th century BC and scattered Autariatae and Celtic graves around these earlier graves show that

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