Description: The primary goal of the project is to support the capacity of National Institution Stobi for conservation and restoration of the existing collection of ceramic and glass vessels from the Roman and Late Roman period. A laboratory for the conservation of the various archaeological materials was established at the archaeological site of Stobi to meet the needs for permanent conservation and restoration. The project team consists of professionals – conservators and archaeologists who are affiliated with various scientific institutions and organizations. The project was implemented for the first time at Stobi in 2010 and has continued without interruption to the present day. Since its inception, more than 120 ceramic vessels were conserved and restored and an online catalogue was published.
More about the site: The first historic records to mention Stobi are by the Roman historian Titus Livy (ca. 197 BCE). According to Livy, Stobi became an important center for salt trading after the Roman conquests of Macedonia and the establishment of Pax Romana. In 69 CE, Emperor Vespasian granted Stobi the rank of municipium and the right to mint its own coins. Stobi was not only an important salt trading center but also strategically located at the crossroads of the ancient roads that ran along the two rivers Axios and Erigon. The first road connected the North and the South of the Balkans as it does today, while the second to the southwest connected Stobi with Via Egnatia near Heraclea Lyncestis and to the northeast it continued to Serdica.
This commercial and strategic position brought Stobi long-term prosperity, especially in the period between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. Several monumental buildings in the city are dated to this period: the Theatre, the first City Wall, Porta Heraclea, Public Building with Arches (most likely the Stobi library), Casa Romana, the Synagogue, as well as the water supply system. In 267 CE the city suffered Goths and Herules raids. At the end of the 3rd century Stobi was devastated by an earthquake, later rebuilt, but following a different urban plan. Most of the ruins visible today belong to buildings dated to this period.
In the 4th century CE, Stobi became an important Christian center and the seat of powerful bishops. In the 5th– 6th centuries, Stobi was the capital city of the Roman province Macedonia Secunda, but suffered from the raids of Huns, Ostrogoths, Avars and Slavs. The constant threat of barbarian raids, as well as certain climatic changes lead to the gradual abandonment of the city in the second half of the 6th century CE. Some records mention a small Slav community that settled and lived there in later centuries. The last historical reference regarding Stobi describes the victory of the Byzantine troops over Stobi’s local militia during the 11th century CE.
