Programme & Abstracts

Cultural exchange in the Roman Danubian provinces was a vibrant mix of military, commercial and population movement elements, blending Roman administration, Latin language and Greek culture with local traditions from Dacia, Thrace and Illyria, facilitated by the Limes frontier as an artery of communication, not just a barrier, introducing Roman architecture, law and goods, while local beliefs and crafts influenced Roman colonists, creating unique hybrid identities, observed in art, religion and daily life in provinces such as Pannonia, Moesia and Dacia.

Manifestations of cultural exchange:

• Syncretism in religion: Roman deities were worshipped alongside local gods, and religious practices mixed, creating unique provincial beliefs.
• Art and architecture: Roman building techniques, mosaics, and sculpture (such as Greek-inspired statues) appeared alongside local artistic styles in villas, public buildings, and tombs.
• Language and identity: Latin became the administrative language, but local languages persisted, while Roman citizenship and education fostered a Romanized elite, but provincial identities remained distinct and hybrid.
• Economic interdependence: Local populations provided food and crafts, while the Roman presence introduced new goods and economic structures, evidenced by the diverse pottery and tools found.

This communication is based on archaeological discoveries made at Tibiscum (Caransebeș municipality, Caraș-Severin county) represented by Roman deities worshipped in the local environment, art and architecture, but also by the existence of craft workshops to which the colonists made a special contribution.

The finding of a single epygraph monument certifies that it was a procurator from Domavia that managed the maining districts of the provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia. The claim that the river of Drina was the route for trading, maining, and transfer of cultural impacts of the Province of Pannonia, and particularly the Lower Pannonia, can be made with high certainty. These impacts are demonstrated through the resemblance of medal ornaments transferred from the Lower Pannonia gravestones to those located in the eastern part of the Roman Province of Dalmatia. Also, these impcts reflected on the first carving workshop designs to spread, in particular, across the northern region of the eastern part of the Province of Dalmatia. Though, it is highly likely that the southern region of the Province was included in the process, namely the areas of the current towns of Prijepolje and Pljevlja. The carved occurrence of the group of lions in the acroteria stella findings in the eastern regions of Dalmata is also related to the areas of the Province of Pannonia.

La macroregione illirica, racchiusa dalle province romane di Pannonia e Dalmazia, si presenta fin dall’epoca più antica come una zona di frontiera e di scambio assai fluida, nella quale confluirono diverse esperienze culturali. Lingue e popolazioni si succedettero fino alla conquista romana; ed è proprio a partire dall’epoca romana e dall’affermazione del latino che abbiamo a disposizione testimonianze scritte significative per ricostruire la storia dell’area. Il processo di romanizzazione e l’uso esclusivo della lingua latina portarono a un’intensificazione di prestiti, scambi e interferenze tra diverse identità e realtà culturali, poiché le province di Dalmazia e Pannonia si trovarono pienamente inseriti nelle modalità relazionali dell’impero: commerci, amministrazione, unità militari. È soprattutto attraverso l’analisi della documentazione epigrafica di età imperiale che il fenomeno si comprende meglio e si possono individuare le modalità e i luoghi della “mediazione” e degli scambi tra Romani e non Romani e tra etnie differenti. L’intervento mira a mostrare, anche attraverso riletture e nuovi approcci alla documentazione epigrafica, alcuni significativi esempi delle modalità e dei luoghi di questi scambi culturali: i santuari, le istituzioni organizzative dei peregrini eredi delle popolazioni conquistate dai Romani, i soldati e i mercanti provenienti da diverse aree dell’impero.

During the formation of the province of Dalmatia, Roman authorities took ethnic boundaries into account, which led to the administrative incorporation of several southern Pannonian communities. These populations – settled across present-day northern and central Bosnia, eastern Bosnia, western Serbia, and northern Montenegro – exhibited profound cultural affinities with northern Dalmatia. Indeed, writers of the Principate, such as Strabo, consistently associated this region with Pannonia rather than Dalmatia. This Pannonian cultural influence is especially evident in funerary epigraphy and iconography. Notable features include depictions of women wearing headscarves in Dalmatia’s mountainous interior, an area that aligned more closely with the cultural sphere of the Pannonian provinces. Furthermore, funerary monuments often display chain-linked fibulae, reflecting jewelry craftsmanship originating from Lower Pannonia. Some monuments in the Drina Valley even portray women in traditional Pannonian attire. Complementing these visual cues, indigenous names characteristic of Pannonia, such as Liccania, Liccus, and Basseana, frequently appear throughout the Dalmatian interior.

Questo lavoro intende esplorare le complesse dinamiche socio-culturali della frontiera danubiana attraverso la pratica del meretricium, focalizzandosi in particolare sulle interazioni tra i soldati romani e le donne locali. Sebbene la storiografia tradizionale abbia spesso trattato la prostituzione di ambito militare come una mera questione logistica, quasi sempre marginale, lo studio si propone di dimostrare come essa abbia rappresentato un canale informale di scambi non solo culturali, ma anche politici.

Il contributo approfondisce come l'afflusso femminile nelle canabae abbia generato una sottocultura di frontiera, unica nel suo genere. Attraverso le fonti epigrafiche e storiografiche, lo studio risponderà in particolare a due quesiti:

• qual era la percezione diffusa nei confronti del meretricio in un contesto di frontiera, dove l' "altro" era un soggetto conquistato?
• In che misura l'esercizio della prostituzione nelle province danubiane differiva dai modelli conosciuti, documentati in particolare a Pompei?

L’ipotesi di partenza è che il meretricium qui fosse meno regolato dalla lex Iulia e più influenzato dalle dinamiche e strutture tribali locali. Questo modello "periferico" rivela uno spazio sociale ibrido, in cui il corpo femminile assume un significato particolare, diventando parte di un fenomeno complesso, affinando la nostra percezione di una soggettività femminile nella storia.

The contribution examines the transmission of mythological scenes across the Danubian provinces through the case study of the episodes of Iphigenia in Tauris cycle in Roman funerary art in Danubian area. Particular attention is given to the tomb of the Spectatii at Šempeter in the Valley of Savinja (Noricum), whose reliefs display striking correspondences with Attic sarcophagi and with a bronze krater from Dionysopolis on the Black Sea coast. These parallels reveal not only shared narrative motifs but also distinctive deviations from the Euripidean version of the myth, suggesting the circulation of alternative visual models.

The paper explores the mechanisms by which such iconographic patterns may have spread between workshops in different provinces, emphasizing the role of affordable media – such as relief pottery, oil lamps, and casts – alongside luxury toreutic objects. By tracing the movement of motifs between Noricum, Pannonia, and the western Black Sea region, this study highlights the Danubian area as an active zone of artistic mediation, where local traditions and metropolitan models intertwined.

La relazione si propone di esaminare le epigrafi funerarie della zona balcanica centrale, concentrandosi sulle particolarità linguistiche e contenutistiche del formulario. L’analisi dimostra un’incongruenza importante nelle formule usate, le quali risultano tipiche di varie località al di fuori dei Balcani. Attraverso lo studio dei casi più interessanti, si cercherà di proporre una ricostruzione di alcuni canali di scambio culturale che hanno definito il quadro del diritto sepolcrale nei Balcani centrali.

The hypogeum-type tombs of Tomis illustrate urban funerary practices in Late Antiquity (4th–6th centuries AD) and reflect the process of Christianization within the local community. Among these monuments, the Painted Tomb stands out for its mural decoration featuring Christian iconography (orant figures, birds, vegetal motifs), indicating a high social status and symbolic integration into the spiritual framework of the Late Roman Empire. The hypogeum discovered in the area of Hotel Maria displays a similar architectural layout but a more restrained decorative treatment, highlighting the typological diversity of such funerary structures. The presence of additional hypogea in the Valea Portului area, arranged approximately parallel to present-day Traian Street, suggests the development of a coherent funerary zone at the periphery of the city. Taken together, these monuments confirm the synthesis between Roman funerary traditions and emerging Christian concepts within the late urban landscape of Tomis.

Romanian archaeologists have been calling the (relative) lack of evidence of the presence of the natives in Roman Dacia as the “Dacian Paradox”. We will propose that this inability of discern the natives is tied up with some presuppositions, namely, that the natives, by being culturally inferior would gladly adopt Roman values, institutions and even Roman identities, whilst abandoning their own. We will examine, briefly, of course, the issue of the alleged romanization of the Dacian natives and propose a different approach to the matter. Our proposal is aligned with the current perspectives about Roman imperialism at The Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of University of São Paulo.

The pseudo-tribes are one of the key elements in the onomastic nomenclature, especially among the soldiers of the Danubian provinces, though not exclusively. They function as explicit evidence of Roman citizenship, in accordance with the lex Iulia, during the second half of the 2nd and the first half of the 3rd century. In principle, Roman citizens adopted the imperial name derived from the title of their native cities; however, there are exceptions that reveal the mechanisms behind their selection and use. It is precisely these exceptions that form the subject of the present presentation.

Die steigende Zahl und Dichte der Funde jenseits der administrativen und militarischen Grenzen der Provinzen an der mittleren und unteren Donau bis nach Pommern, Polen. Westund Nordukraine. wesentlich zuri.ickgehend auf den wissenschaftlichen Einsatz von Metalldetektoren wie legalen und illegalen Sondengangern. zeigen eine große Dynamik im ,,Barbaricum“ und neue raumliche Strukturen der Elitebildung wie des romischen Einflusses.

Dies eroffnet neue Perspektiven, aber auch eine komplexe Problematik bezilglich des Verstandnisses des wirtschaftlichen und kulturellen Austausches aus den Donauprovinzen heraus durch lm- und Exporte sowie Mobilitat und diplomatische Beziehungen. Zugleich ist die Wechselwirkung und Dynamik in den Grenzprovinzen selbst weiter zu beleuchten. Doch handelt es sich um rein eigendynamische Prozesse. wie gerade von archaologischer Seite oft vorausgesetzt, oder stellt sich nicht doch die grundsatzliche Frage nach den Akteuren auf romischer Seite in diesem komplexen Phanomen und ihre steuemde Rolle: Grenzentwicklung, Steuer- und Zollsystem. Regulierung von Personen- und Warenverkehr und Markten und die dahinter stehende Politik der Kaiser. der Reichszentrale. der jeweiligen Statthalter, Diplomatie und Soldnerwesen. Dies soli in einer knappen Skizze vorgestellt werden.

Con il suo imponente corso il Danubio funzionò non solo come barriera naturale divisiva tra Roma e il barbaricum, ma anche e soprattutto come asse di collegamento tra l’Europa centrale e sud-orientale. Lo sviluppo lungo le sue sponde meridionali di una fitta rete di città, fortezze e porti fluviali favorì la circolazione di persone, merci e idee tra le province di Rezia, Norico, Pannonia, e, più ad est, le Mesie e la Tracia. Il grande fiume di confine contribuì a creare uno spazio culturale dinamico, in cui - veicolati dalla grande mobilità di soldati, mercanti, funzionari e artigiani - forme linguistiche, culti e modelli urbanistici di matrice romana e “mediterranea” si mescolarono con le tradizioni locali. In particolare, i contingenti militari, composti da uomini provenienti da regioni diverse, furono un efficace strumento di ibridazione culturale, accanto ai quali non vanno dimenticati i mercanti, attivi sul Danubio in ogni periodo della storia imperiale, di cui le fonti (e.g. Ammiano Marcellino nel tardo IV secolo) suggeriscono un ruolo di operatori di scambi, non solo di species e notizie, ma anche di forme culturali, usi sociali e credenze religiose. Tenendo in considerazione anche gli apporti allogeni nel complesso quadro delle società provinciali di frontiera, l’intervento tenterà di ricostruire alcune di queste dinamiche di scambio e il loro impatto sulla più ampia storia socio-culturale di province come il Norico e la Pannonia nei secoli IV e V d.C.

Nell'antichità, lo scambio di culture e buone pratiche era comune. È attestato da fonti scritte che, al tempo dell'imperatore Probo, vaste aree della Pannonia erano coltivate a vite. Un ruolo importante in questo fu svolto dagli abitanti della Gallia, ai quali l'imperatore permise di possedere e coltivare vigneti nelle province danubiane, grazie al clima simile. Nelle fonti scritte dell'antichità si sono conservate informazioni sul metodo gallico di coltivazione della vite e sulle sue peculiarità. La coltivazione della vite nell'antichità è un argomento importante nelle opere scientifiche, ma l'influenza dei Galli in Pannonia non ha ricevuto sufficiente attenzione nella letteratura scientifica pertinente.

Basandosi su documenti provenienti da una fonte epigrafica della regione della Pannonia Secunda risalente al IV secolo, in combinazione con altre fonti scritte e letteratura recente, nonché con i più recenti risultati biotecnologici, questo saggio prenderà in considerazione lo scambio culturale nella coltivazione della vite e dei vigneti che ebbe luogo tra l'area Gallica e il Limes Danubiano in quel periodo, nonché la sua continuità durante il Medioevo. Questo lavoro fornirà un nuovo contributo allo studio interdisciplinare dei contatti tra l'Occidente e il Limes Danubiano in epoca antica.

Emerging alongside the military camp of Legio VII Claudia, the civilian settlement at Viminacium gradually evolved into the provincial capital, attaining the rank of municipium and later colonia, while steadily expanding its population. This urban growth fostered a diverse range of crafts. The intensification of construction required skilled masons, carpenters, joiners, stonecutters, sculptors, as well as trained surveyors and architects. Metalworking flourished, encompassing foundry, blacksmithing, and goldsmithing, and produced both utilitarian objects and luxury items. Trade, the lifeblood of the economy, held a central role in daily life and relied on an established system of measures. Situated in the fertile Stig plain along the lower course of the Mlava River, Viminacium also benefited from favorable climatic conditions for agriculture. From the 2nd century onward, villae rusticae and rural settlements appeared in its hinterland, cultivating grain as the primary crop, alongside other agricultural products and livestock breeding. These economic activities are indirectly reflected in the numerous iron, bronze, and stone tools uncovered during excavations.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of these finds, situating them within the broader framework of economic practices, production trends, and local manufacture between the 2nd and 4th centuries.

The epigraphic file of Topolog and vicinia is not rich, but the mention of. C. Aufidius Helius, originary from Amurion, indicates a possible status of veteran. The archaeological surveys and researches reveal the existence of villae rusticae. My research focuses on mapping the archaeological finds, using the Archaeological National Repertoire of Romania and my own surveys I made recently. Using the epigraphic file in connection with the archaeological evidence, I shall follow the degree of colonization in this rural milieu, as well as the economic potential of the area, using archaeological mapping of the resources.

Starting from the very beginning of Roman rule in northern Dobroudja—as part of Moesia Inferior and subsequently became Scythia Minor—all kinds of goods began to flood the local markets. Regarding pottery, wine and oil amphorae, as well as fine tablewares, became part of daily life in all settlements: urban, rural, and military.

While the coastal urban sites had a long tradition of trade and were more adept at tapping into wider networks, the new Danubian settlements were largely military and occupied areas dominated by local populations. However, while the wine and oil supply was regulated by the army’logistics, finewares are a different matter, as they represent personal preferences and were purchased individually.

This presentation follows the evidence of supply chains in these Danubian sites, the types of finewares discovered, and how they connect with the major urban trading hubs on the western coast of the Black Sea. The main purpose is to investigate noticeable differences between the products traded in Danubian (e.g. Dinogetia, Noviodunum) and the coastal sites (e.g. Tomis, Histria, Argamum), as well as the trading networks responsible for these supply chains.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the results of recent interdisciplinary research on the Lower Danube region, with a focus on the supply systems of Late Roman frontier troops and their evolution during Late Antiquity. Particular attention is given to changes in the organisation and delivery of the annona militaris, including shifts in supply routes and the geographical origins of provisions. The study also examines the location, architectural form, and volumetric characteristics of storage facilities associated with military supply, offering new insights into their function and logistical role.

A key case study is the Roman legionary camp and Early Byzantine city of Novae (Moesia Inferior / Moesia Secunda), one of the most important and best-researched military centres on the Lower Danube frontier. Excavations within Polish–Bulgarian research projects revealed a monumental armamentarium in the fortress’s central zone, later replaced in the 4th century AD by a horreum after the arsenal’s destruction. This architectural transformation coincides with an intensified building activity, likely linked to the reigns of Constantius II, Valens and Valentinian. Comparable horrea of similar design appear at Capidava, Histria, and Serdica, suggesting a broader regional pattern. Architectural features indicate that these buildings were used primarily for storing goods transported in amphorae, reflecting new logistical requirements and functions of Late Roman military installations along the Danube frontier.

On the Via Publica Aquileia–Emona–Siscia, the road and customs station of Romula was excavated between 2001 and 2004 at the site of Ribnica near Brežice. A significant part of the settlement, including the remains of the Roman road and the western necropolis with 131 graves, was uncovered.

Based on the material analysed so far, the settlement in Romula was founded after the Augustan occupation of Illyricum and Tiberius' Pannonian War (14–8 BC), perhaps even after the suppression of the great Pannonian-Dalmatian uprising between 6 and 9 AD. The peak of its development and prosperity was in the 1st and the 2nd centuries.

The earliest material from the Petričev grič area and the settlement shows a distinctly supraregional character and reflects trade connections and imports from Spain to the Levant, with diverse and high-quality imported products coming from major production and supply centres from the end of the Augustan and early Tiberian periods until the end of the 1st century AD.

In terms of diversity and quantity, the finds stand out even in comparison with larger centres of that time in the wider area, such as Emona and Siscia. In the following decades, the ceramic and glass material is enriched by more regionally and locally represented products from Pannonia and Noricum.

Im Zuge der Bearbeitung der Keramikfunde der Fundstelle Petričev grič. in Romula (Tomaž, A. I. Lazar in E. Schindler Kaudelka 2025, Ribnica pri Brežicah: Romula, območje Petričev grič. Arheologija na avtocestah Slovenije 118/3, Ljubljana) wurden unüblich hohe Zahlen bei hispanischem (Dr. 7-11 und Beltran 2A) und italischem Garum (Grado 1 und orlo a fascia) und von Oliven (Schörgendorfer 558 und glatte troncoconiche da olive) festgestellt. Das helltonige Material enthielt sowohl importierte als auch regional produzierte Garumtöpfe und Oliventöpfe. Zur Diskussion steht die Frage, ob ein in Romula ansässiger Händler Fischsaucen, Garum und Oliven aus diesen Amphoren in kleinere Gebinde für den Detailverkauf umfüllte.

A partire dalla seconda metà del I secolo d.C. la produzione di terra sigillata si contrae anche in Italia settentrionale, riducendo il repertorio morfologico a poche forme. Le recenti analisi dei contesti di Romula e Flavia Solva evidenziano la presenza di un considerevole numero di vasellame padano riferibile alle forme Consp. 39-45, dato che contrasta con le più esigue e fino ad ora note testimonianze di Terra sigillata Tardo Padana nei territori della Valle Padana.

La spiegazione del fenomeno non è presto data e solo attraverso l’analisi dei dati, un corretto approccio metodologico e considerazioni sociali e commerciali di più ampio respiro si potranno sondare le dinamiche che sono alla base del fenomeno.

Tra la seconda metà del II e il III secolo d.C. si assiste in ambito nord-italico alla circolazione di vasellame fittile e vitreo dalla Gallia centrale, dalla Gallia Belgica, dai territori di area renana e dalla Pannonia.

Parallelamente, in Italia settentrionale, sono documentate produzioni ceramiche e vitree che in parte richiamano il vasellame importato.

L'osservazione del fenomeno riporta l’attenzione sui significati di imitazione, ispirazione, contaminazione dalla cui analisi scaturiscono riflessioni di carattere culturale, sociale, economico e artigianale.

The discoveries of terra sigillata pottery from the area of the castrum and civil settlement at Praetorium – Mehadia are relatively few and extremely fragmented due to agricultural workbcarried out over time in this area. Even if their number is modest, the study of these vessels with relief decoration is important for understanding the contribution that the settlement of Mehadia had in transit trade. As Mehadia was located on one of the main roads connecting the Danube with the interior of the Dacia province, the presence of these fragments of terra sigillata pottery belonging to centers that exported luxury goods, especially in the settlements bordering the Danube, is significant.

At Mehadia, products of craftsmen from the centers of Rheinzabern (belonging to the circle of CERIALIS, COMITIALIS I AND VERECVNDVS I) and Westendorf (belonging to the circle of COMITIALIS-EROTVS AND COMITIALIS-DECIMINIVS, VERENIVS) were identified. The products of these workshops arrived in the settlement of Mehadia sometime towards the end of the 2nd century and the first half of the 3rd century as goods serving the population here.

Archaeological research conducted at Novae (Lower Moesia) over several decades has substantially expanded the corpus of evidence for stamped building ceramics. Excavations in Sector IV were completed in 2010, while systematic investigations in Sector XII began in 2011 and have continued to the present. This long-term fieldwork has yielded new material, including numerous previously undocumented stamped building ceramics.

The accumulation of new finds and stratigraphic data makes it timely to revisit and supplement earlier interpretations. The present paper provides an updated overview of stamped building ceramics from Novae, based on material from Sectors IV and XII, and reassesses their chronological and contextual significance. By integrating legacy data with newly acquired evidence, this study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of building ceramic production and use at the site. By situating the evidence from Novae in a broader Danubian context, the study highlights patterns of production, distribution, and cultural exchange across the Danubian provinces.