Plan of Novae showing the Legionary fortress headquarters and adjoining later Bishop's palaceLegionary fortress headquarters (principia)
Novae was initially one of the few great Roman legionary fortresses along the empire's border, forming part of the defences (limes Moesiae) along the Danube in northern Bulgaria. The settlement later expanded into a town in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior, later Moesia Secunda.
It lies about 4km east of the modern town of Svishtov.
The fortress is one of the few along the limes to have been excavated and now open to the public.
Bishop's palace with cathedral before latest reconstruction
Localisation and topography
The site of Novae is situated on the southern bank of the Danube at Pametnicite near Svishtov (a memorial site where the Russian army entered Bulgaria during the Turkish-Russian war in 1877) or Stǎklen (a place rich in glass – Bulg. stǎklo), as many ancient glass fragments are visible on the site (the production of glass is attested in late Roman Novae). The castra legionis covering an area of 18 hectares is situated on a slope with its lowest point at the river-bank and its highest point 30m higher in the southern part of the site. Its topography resulted in terraced levels within the defensive walls.
At present mainly the central part of the site has been excavated and restored.
History and archaeology
Permanent Roman military presence in the Lower Danubian region started from the beginnings of 1st century AD. Around AD 45 Legio VIII Augusta took part in the suppression of the Thracian uprising,[1] was placed here and founded its castrum. At the same time the province of Moesia was already created. The legion with its detachments controlled the section of the Danube from the mouth of the Osum River (Asamus) up to the mouth of the Yantra River, near Iatrus.
After the death of Nero, the dislocation of many legions within the Empire resulted in replacement by emperor Vespasian in 69-70 AD of Legio VIII Augusta by Legio I Italica, which stayed in Novae at least to the 430s. In AD 86 the province was divided and Novae, together with Durostorum, became one of two legionary bases within the borders of Moesia Inferior. During the Dacian wars of Domitian (85-89) Novae did not suffer significant damage, which may indicate that the main operations took place in the western and eastern part of the province. The legion was followed by craftsmen, servicemen, traders and other camp followers who settled down in the fortress vicinity creating the canabae legionis. At the same time another settlement (vicus) emerged ca. 3 km to the east of the camp, in the place Ostrite Mogili[2]
Novae served as a base of operations for Roman campaigns against Barbarian tribes including Trajan's Dacian Wars, and the last time during Maurice's Balkan campaigns. The legion was also responsible for bridge construction over the Danube.
Until the Flavian period the fortress walls were built from earth and wood. During the campaigns of Trajan the walls were replaced by stone wall up to 3m thick with square towers. Apart from the new defensive walls, the monumental building of headquarters (principia) with the new Trajanic basilica, and the new building of a hospital (valetudinarium) were built at the place of the former Flavian baths (thermae). It is possible that during the Antonine period the legion controlled the area beyond the Yantra River. The most prosperous times for Novae, as well as for the province, were during the Severan dynasty.
In 250 Novae was attacked by the Goths of Cniva but escaped damage, although the canabae and the nearby settlements were completely destroyed. In the second half of the 3rd century Novae was systematically attacked and destroyed by barbarians. From the 4th century onwards when the legion was divided into detachments occupying small forts and fortlets, civil buildings constituted the main part of internal buildings of Novae. The new streets with pavements were built from re-used stone, often bearing inscriptions. Many glass workshops were established, both in the town, as well as in its surroundings. At a certain moment the area of 8 ha to the east of the legionary base was surrounded by the new defensive walls.
The latest evidence for the presence of the legion is dated by a series of inscriptions from 430, 431 and 432.[3]
In the late 5th and 6th centuries Novae was the seat of a bishop. The cathedral and neighbouring buildings were built over the legionary barracks west of the former legionary headquarters. The last period of prosperity was during the reign of Justinian (527-565) when the defensive walls were rebuilt and reinforced, but the attacks of Slavs and Avars eventually end the existence of the ancient town. In 9th – 11th centuries the church and a cemetery existed in the western part of the town.
Novae is supposed to be the home of the saint named Lupus, who is venerated in Greek and Romanian traditions.
Recent excavations have revealed the via principalis and other buildings.[4] In 2018, possible Roman soldiers' burials were discovered near Novae.[5]
Civilian settlements and the extramural area
The civil settlement (canabae legionis) were situated to the west of the legionary base.[6] Another civil vicus has been located over 2km east of the fortress, at Ostrite Mogili.[7] One of the settlements was granted municipal rights, but only one inscription testifies this status.[8]A splendid villa to the west of the defensive walls, within the canabae, could have been an official residence was destroyed by the Gothic invasions in mid-3rd century.
Other minor settlements and places of cult were located but not systematically excavated.[9]
The area to the south-east and east of the fortress was occupied by the necropolis, which was recently excavated.[10], while the military amphitheatre is postulated on the north-eastern side of the camp.[11]
Water supply to the fortress, particularly the baths including the nearby nymphaeum and to the town was ensured by three known aqueducts, one of which was at least 9km long and fed the distribution tank (castellum divisorum) at the south-east corner of the fortress.[12]
During the late Roman period the town was enlarged by a new line of defensive walls and covered 26 hectares jointly with the former legionary base.[13]
Name of the site
At present we use the name of Novae (Nouae), although the toponym might have referred to the canabae (canabae legionis I Italicae Novae), when the castra itself had the name of castra legionis I Italicae. The literary sources give the name of Novae or in Accusative form Novas (Itin. Ant. 221, 4; Jord., Get., 101, Tab. Peut. VIII, 1; Not. Dign. Or. XL, 30, 31; Eugipp., 44, 4) and the Greek transcription – Nόβας given by Procopius (De aed. IV, 11), Theophanes Confessor (Chron., p.423, 426, 436, ed. J. Classen) and Anonymous Ravennatis (IV, 7). The Greek form Nόβαι appears rather rare (Hierocl. Synecd. 636, 6; Theoph. Sim. VII, 2.16; VIII, 4.3-4); earlier form mentioned by Ptolemy is Nooῦαι (Ptol. III, 10.10).[14]
One hypothesis derives the name from Νόης Nóēs, a river mentioned by Herodotus, which is then identified with the stream (now variously known as Dermendere, Tekirdere, Golyamata Bara, or Belyanovsko Dere) at whose mouth the fortress was located.[15]
Related Research Articles
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Albania, northern parts of North Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobruja and small parts of Southern Ukraine.
Carnuntum was a Roman legionary fortress and headquarters of the Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of 50,000 inhabitants.
Legio I Italica was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded by emperor Nero on September 22, 66. The epithet Italica is a reference to the Italian origin of its first recruits. It was stationed at Novae, near modern-day Svishtov (Bulgaria). There are still records of the I Italica on the Danube border at the beginning of the 5th century. The emblem of the legion was a boar.
Legio VIII Augusta was one of the oldest legions of the Imperial Roman army.
Legio XIII Gemina, in English the 13th Twin Legion was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of Julius Caesar's key units in Gaul and in the civil war, and was the legion with which he crossed the Rubicon in January, perhaps the 10th, 49 BC. The legion appears to have still been in existence in the 5th century AD. Its symbol was the lion.
Svishtov is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipality. The town is the second-largest in the province after the city of Veliko Tarnovo and before Gorna Oryahovitsa.
Oescus, Palatiolon or Palatiolum was an important ancient city on the Danube river in Roman Moesia. It later became known as Ulpia Oescus. It lay northwest of the modern Bulgarian city of Pleven, near the village of Gigen.
Vindobona was a Roman military camp in the province of Pannonia, located on the site of the modern city of Vienna in Austria. The settlement area took on a new name in the 13th century, being changed to Berghof, or now simply known as Alter Berghof.
Dinogetia was an ancient Geto-Dacian settlement and later Roman fortress located on the right (southern) bank of the Danube near the place where it joins the Siret. The Dinogetia site is situated in Northern Dobruja 8 kilometres east of Galați, Romania and 2 kilometers north of Gărvan, a village in Jijila commune.
Storgosia was a Roman road station and later a fortress, located in the modern Kaylaka Park in the vicinity of modern Pleven.
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north against the Brigantes, and rebuilt completely over the next few decades by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix. In the early 3rd century the fortress was again rebuilt. The legion probably remained at the fortress until the late 4th or early 5th century, upon which it fell into disuse.
Marcus Valerius Maximianus was an important Roman general of the period of the Marcomannic Wars during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He was born in the Roman colony of Poetovio, where his father, also called Marcus Valerius Maximianus, was a local censor and priest. He was decorated for services in the Parthian war of Lucius Verus and was appointed by Marcus Aurelius to ensure the armies in Pannonia were supplied by boats on the Danube.
The Moesian Limes is the modern term given to a collection of Roman fortifications between the Black Sea shore and Pannonia, present-day Hungary, consisting primarily of forts along the Danube to protect the Roman provinces of Upper and Lower Moesia south of the river.
Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths encompass the archaeological ruins and sites of the Legionary Fortress of Isca Augusta spread across the town of Caerleon, near the city of Newport, South Wales. Notable for being one of only three permanent legionary fortresses from Roman Britain, Caerleon has provided a unique opportunity to study the archaeology of a Roman Legionary fortress, less affected by the medieval and subsequent urban activity of most such fortresses. Having attracted the attention of eminent archaeologists throughout the 20th century it now has four major public archaeological venues, including the museum run by Cadw, called 'Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths', featuring the excavated fortress bath-house. Also open to the public is the most complete excavated amphitheatre in Britain, a series of barracks and the National Roman Legion Museum. The fortress and its surrounding civil settlement have been the subject of continuing major archaeological investigations into the 21st century.
Capidava was an important Geto-Dacian center on the right bank of the Danube. After the Roman conquest, it became a civil and military center, as part of the province of Moesia Inferior, modern Dobruja.
A canaba was the Latin term for a hut or hovel and was later used typically to mean a town that emerged as a civilian settlement in the vicinity of a Roman legionary fortress.
Roman Dacia was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat. During Roman rule, it was organized as an imperial province on the borders of the empire. It is estimated that the population of Roman Dacia ranged from 650,000 to 1,200,000. It was conquered by Trajan (98–117) after two campaigns that devastated the Dacian Kingdom of Decebalus. However, the Romans did not occupy its entirety; Crișana, Maramureș, and most of Moldavia remained under the Free Dacians.
The Danubian Limes, or Danube Limes, refers to the Roman military frontier or limes which lies along the River Danube in the present-day German state of Bavaria, in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Sostra is an ancient Roman fort and settlement near the village of Lomets, Bulgaria.
References
↑ J. KOLENDO, Claude et l’annexion de la Thrace, in: Claude de Lyon empereur romain. Actes du Colloque Paris-Nancy-Lyon. Novembre 1992, Paris 1998.
↑ A. Tomas, Living with the Army I. Civil Settlements near Roman Legionary Fortresses in Lower Moesia, Warszawa 2017
↑ T. Sarnowski, “Drei Spatkaiserzeitliche Statuenbasen aus Novae in Niedermosien” In: Römische Städte und Festungen an der Donau, Akten der Regionalen Konferenz Beograd 16–19 Oktober 2003, edited by M. Mirković, Beograd 2005, pp. 223– 230
↑ A. Tomas, Living with the Army I. Civil Settlements near Roman Legionary Fortresses in Lower Moesia, Warszawa 2017, p.41; S. CONRAD, Archaeological Survey on the Lower Danube: Results and Perspectives, in: Surveying the Greek Chora. The Black Sea Region in a Comparative Perspective. International Conference, Sandbjerg, Denmark (31 August – 3 September 2003), Aarhus 2006 [= Black Sea Studies, IV], 309-331. https://canabaenovae.wordpress.com/novae/extramural-area/ostrite-mogili/
↑ A. Tomas, Living with the Army I. Civil Settlements near Roman Legionary Fortresses in Lower Moesia, Warszawa 2017, p. 159ff.
↑ A. Tomas, Living with the Army I. Civil Settlements near Roman Legionary Fortresses in Lower Moesia, Warszawa 2017, p. 81-85.
↑ A. Tomas et al., The eastern necropolis of Novae, Archaeologia Bulgarica 24/3, 2020, 37–63
↑ A. Tomas, Living with the Army I. Civil Settlements near Roman Legionary Fortresses in Lower Moesia, Warszawa 2017, p. 76
↑ Ivan Tsarov: The Aqueducts in the Bulgarian Lands, 2nd-4th century AD, p 76, ISBN9786191681907; A. Tomas, Connecting to Public Water: The Rural Landscape and Water Supply of Lower Moesia, Archaeologia Bulgarica 15/2, 2011, 59–72
E. GENČEVA, P”rviât voenen lager v Novae (Dolna Miziâ), Sofia-Warszawa 2002. L. PRESS, T. SARNOWSKI, Novae. Römisches Legionslager und frühbyzantinische Stadt an der unteren Donau, Antike Welt 21, 1990, 22. T. SARNOWSKI, Fortress of the Legio I Italica at Novae, Akten des XI. Intern. Limeskongresses (Szekesfehervar, 30.8.-6.9.1976), 415-424. T. SARNOWSKI, La fortresse de la legion I Italica et le limes du sud-est de la Dacie, Eos 71, 1983, p.265-276. T. SARNOWSKI, Novae in the Notitia Dignitatum, Archeologia (Warszawa) 57, 2007(2008). T. SARNOWSKI, The Name of Novae in Lower Moesia, Archeologia (Warszawa) 57, 2007(2008). A. TOMAS, Living with the Army, vol. I. Civil Settlements near Roman Legionary Fortresses in Lower Moesia, Warszawa 2017. IGLNov Inscriptions grecques et latines de Novae (Mésie inférieure), J. Kolendo, V. Božilova [red.], Bordeaux 1997.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
