The Balkan Heritage Foundation and the Department of Archaeology at New Bulgarian University
are pleased to invite you to the latest of our
BEMA Online Seminars in Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology
The Fate of a Roman Road Station after Antiquity
by
Alexander Manev
Ph.D. Candidate in Classical Archaeology at National Institute of Archaeology and Museum (NAIM-BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria), Balkan Heritage Field School Instructor
on
Saturday, December 04, 2021
at 1 pm New York (EST), 6 pm London, UK (GMT), 8 pm Sofia, Bulgaria (EET)
The event will last approximately 90 mins including Q&A.
To register your interest and receive a Zoom link, please RSVP to bhfs.admissions@gmail.com
(Please do check your spam/junk inbox if you do not receive a confirmation email within a day.)
Bona Mansio was one of the road stations on the main arterial route through the Balkan peninsula, the Via Diagonalis, during the Roman and medieval periods. It was of the type called ‘Mansio’, where official travelers could take lodgings overnight. Its location in the western part of Thrace, in the valley of the Hebros river, was attested by several Roman itineraries.
During the troubled period of Late Antiquity, the main roadside complex was moved to a nearby hill, which was fortified, making it the most convenient feature to defend. The area grew into a settlement covering an area of ca. half a hectare. An extensive building plan was implemented within the fortified walls, which contained most of the population. The complex survived from the 4th to the end of the 6th c. CE, when it was demolished in the context of multiple barbarian raids in the valley.
During the 11th and 12th c. the fortification ruins were used to accommodate a medieval settlement. Some dwellings made of perishable materials were built in front of the demolished wall. At the end of the 12th c. the buildings were burned down, and the area was abandoned. Over the next centuries the walls were used as a stone quarry by the local population. Annual archaeological excavations were initiated in 2016, as a joint project of Balkan Heritage Foundation and Septemvri Archaeological Museum “Prof. M. Domaradski”.