The SEEDD Project
Southeast Europe Digital Documentation
Roman Archaeology at the Edge of Empire
Phase 1 Target Sites
Serbia:
Serbia:
Felix Romuliana
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2007, Felix Romuliana is located in eastern Serbia near the village of Gamzigrad. The site is home to the impressive and well-preserved remains of an imperial palace and near-by burial monuments connected with the 3rd century Tetrarchic Roman emperor Galerius and his family. Also, from a later phase of use, are the remains of two Christian basilicas and a baptistery dated between the 4th and 7th centuries. Thorough archaeological excavations have been underway since the 1950s.
Naissus
Located in the modern city of Niš in southern Serbia, Naissus was established as a fortified camp in the first century CE near a pre-existing Thracian settlement. By the second century CE it had emerged as a key link in the communication and transportation routes connecting the Danube to the Mediterranean and beyond, a status that it maintained into Late Antiquity. The city served as a bishopric from the fourth to sixth centuries CE. Excavations throughout the modern city have revealed basilicas, early Christian tombs with richly frescoed religious iconography, fortress walls, baths, streets, and luxurious homes.
Mediana
The site of a decisive battle between the forces of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Trajan and the Dacians, Adamclisi was later settled and named Tropaium Traiani in honor of the victorious emperor. It derived its name from the massive triumphal column which Trajan erected in honor of his victory. Tropaium Traiani was fortified in the 2nd Century CE and remained a key link the Empire's Danubian frontier through late antiquity. Though it was sacked on several occasions, there is evidence of Roman re-occupation and rebuilding into the 7th century.
Timacum Minus
Located near the modern Serbian town of Knjaževac, this site preserves remains of the oldest known Roman military fort in the region, used from the 1st to the 6th century. As such, the site provides exceptionally significant information about the evolution of fortress design along the Danube limes throughout the Roman imperial period.
Romania:
Sarmizegetusa
The capital of the Dacian Kingdom conquered by Trajan in the early 2nd Century CE. Sarmizegetusa was renamed in honor of the conquering emperor and became the capital of the Roman province of Dacia. It thrived throughout the rest of the 2nd Century but fell into decline in the 3rd Century due to a combination of Gothic incursions and Roman civil wars. The province of Dacia as a whole was officially abandoned by the Emperor Aurelian in the early 270s.
Tropaeum Trajani
The site of a decisive battle between the forces of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Trajan and the Dacians, Adamclisi was later settled and named Tropaium Traiani in honor of the victorious emperor. It derived its name from the massive triumphal column which Trajan erected in honor of his victory. Tropaium Traiani was fortified in the 2nd Century CE and remained a key link the Empire's Danubian frontier through late antiquity. Though it was sacked on several occasions, there is evidence of Roman re-occupation and rebuilding into the 7th century.