Archaeologists Find Building's Portico, Governor's Residence Hypocaust in Ancient Roman [Bulgaria]

Archaeology In Bulgaria ^ | October 30, 2015 | Ivan Dikov (calling martin fierro)

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In 271 AD, Roman Emperor Aurelian (r. 270-275 AD) transformed the province of Moesia Superior into the province of Dacia Aureliana with its capital at Serdica (today's Sofia), after vacating Dacia Traiana beyond the Danube. Around 283 AD, Dacia Aureliana was divided into two provinces, Dacia Mediterranea, with its capital at Serdica, and Dacia Ripensis ("Dacia from the banks of the Danube") with its capital at Ratiaria (Colonia Ulpia Ratiaria)...

In addition to the portico, i.e. a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, the archaeologists have also unearthed the stylobate, the platform upon which colonnades are placed.

The archaeologists point out that during their digs in 2014, they found 4-5 bases of columns that used to be part of the portico that they have now uncovered. Unfortunately, the bases had been removed from their original places and tossed around by looting treasure hunters.

During their 2015 excavations, which have been really brief because of the meager government funding, the researchers have also found a number of Roman coins, mostly from the 4th century AD, as well as another column base from the atrium of the provincial governor's residence.

All in all, the buildings that they have been focusing since the excavations of Ratiaria were resumed in 2013 (for the first time since 1991), date back to the height of the Roman colony, the 3rd-5th century AD, when it was the capital of the Late Roman province of Dacia Ripensis.

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Full title: Archaeologists Find Building's Portico, Governor's Residence Hypocaust in Ancient Roman Colony Ratiaria near Bulgaria's Archar.

Because of the meager government funding, the 2015 excavations of the Ancient Roman city of Ratiaria in Northwest Bulgaria were limited to three weeks in October. This is a file photo. Photo: Radio Vidin

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Written by Ivan Dikov.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Unfortunately, the collapse of the communist regime in Bulgaria affected negatively the research and security of the Ancient Roman city.

Eastern Europe lost so much with the fall of communism.

/end sarc

[colorado tanker]

I suppose I just haven’t read enough, but it has always seemed strange to me that after the Romans retreated to south of the Danube the Romanians kept a Romance language, while the lands the Romans kept ultimately adopted Slavic languages.

[SunkenCiv]

Until the Turks came in from the east, the Bulgars were the major longterm enemy of the Byzantines. The western Balkans were lost to various groups in succession, what is now Romania (Romanian has lots of loanwords from Slavic languages, as well as French and German) had fluctuating borders. I remember Kurt Gowdy talking about how in Romania, the universal nod for yes, shake for no was reversed as a consequence of having Turkish blades up against their throats with the question, do you accept Allah? :’)

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/romanian.htm

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/bulgarian.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrace

http://www.byzantium1200.com/aquaduct.html

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[colorado tanker]

Thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

I’d used that site a lot over the years, never noticed before that there are spoken samples embedded in the pages — probably because I’d never visited pages for living languages before. ;’)