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At the present stage of studies of the two Roman provinces Moesia Superior and Inferior, most of the stone quarries which supplied the military camps, city centres and villa complexes have been located.
On the territory of present-day North Bulgaria there was also significant import of stone materials (mainly marble from Aegea, Asia Minor and Propontis). A significant part of the architectural complexes in Moesia Superior and Inferior, however, were constructed thanks to the exploitation of the local stone deposits. These were mainly different types of limestone, granite and significantly less marble.
In the province of Moesia Superior stonecutting developed in 1st c. AD. The military
camp Ratiaria offers a number of stone monuments – architectural details, tombstones
and sarcophagi. The stone quarries of the ancient colony Ulpia Oescus were
near the present-day town of Berkovitsa. High-quality limestone and marble
were mined there. Part of the tombstones from Ratiaria date back to the times
when the legion was permanently present (1st c. – beginning of 2nd c.). The
architectural details and sarcophagi date mainly from the period
of the colony’s most intensive development – end of 2nd – beginning of 3rd
c. AD. An especially impressive sarcophagus is the one of the type “garland
sarcophagi from Asia Minor” – National Archaeological Museum, Sofia.
The
data about the development of stonecutting in the camp of legio
V Macedonica and later in the Roman colony Ulpia Oescus are of special interest. The archaeologist
I. Velkov established that Oescus was supplied with stone material from
at least two quarries. One of them was
near the village of Kreta
and the other – near the village of Kunino. The stone quarries near the
village of Kreta are along the right bank of the river Vit and are located
on the
prominent limestone terraces. They supplied the camp of legio V Macedonica since 1st c. AD. Large stone blocks (quadra) and unfinished architectural details (postament,
column) have been found on the terrain. Several tombstones and statues
are also known from this age – the gravestone of Resius Hronius, one of
the earliest
stone monuments from Moesia Inferior, a gravestone from the village of Baikal, a statue from the time of emperor Nero (nowadays exhibited
at the National Archaeological Museum - Sofia).
At the very beginning of 2nd c. AD, right after the establishment of the colony Ulpia Oescus, impressive architectural ensembles were constructed. Now there is a lot of information about them from the large number of architectural details from the temples of the Capitolian triad, the civil basilica and the temple of Fortuna. These are the largest architectural complexes from the Lower Danube limes. They were definitely decorated by the local stonecutting workshops which reached a high level of development during the period from the beginning of 2nd c. until the middle of 3rd c AD.
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It is interesting to note that during the 3rd c. a rock sanctuary of the god Mitra appeared on the very stone terraces, where the stone quarries operated. Even the name of the settlement of the stonecutters who worked in these huge for their time quarries is known. Its ancient name is significant – Lapidarium. Prof. B. Gerov found and deciphered signs with the name on several stone monuments. The undisputable localization of the ancient vicus Lapidarium is around the present-day village of Kreta, Pleven region.
The facts regarding the other stonecutting centre which supplied Ulpia Oescus with stone material – the one at the village of Kunino – are as interesting. The name of the ancient vicus which existed near the stone quarries is also known – vicus Trullensium, i.e. „village of the Trullensium“. The epigraphic monuments uncovered by Iv. Velkov show that this was the settlement of the stonecutters from 2nd – 3rd c. AD. A number of unfinished and abandoned architectural details have been found – Dorian, anta and column capitals.
The legionary camp of legio I Italica in Novae (at the city of Svishtov) started to produce various stone monuments
as early as the end of 1st c. These include not only tombstones but also a number of architectural details
from the legion’s hospital – the valetudinarium. This complex was constructed
entirely in the Toscana order. In Novae and its region several stonecutters’ workshops
operated. This fact was valid for the whole period from 1st until 3rd c. AD.
Similarly to the situation in Ratiaria, Oescus and Novae, in Durostorum - the last legionary camp on the Bulgarian side of the Danube riverbank - there were well-developed stonecutters’ workshops. Several sarcophagi, tombstones and a number of architectural details are known from this centre of the Lower Danube limes. The development of stonecutting in Durostorum took place mainly in 2nd and 3rd c. AD. The most well-known monuments, produced in these stonecutters’ workshops are several statues from the end of 2nd – beginning of 3rd c. AD (the Severus age, kept at the NAM-Sofia) and magnificent architectural details (now at the Museum of History - Silistra).
Serious information about stonecutting during the Roman Age is available for
the region of Marcianopolis (present-day town of Devnya, Varna region). The
biggest limestone quarry is located to the north of the village of Manastir,
Provadia region. K. Shkorpil reported that the quarry on the left shore of
Sahan-dere dates back to Roman times. Other significant stone quarries can
be found in the region Kairatsite, very near present-day Devnya. These were the very
quarries that supplied the whole of Marcianopolis, as well as the coastal city
of Odessos (present-day Varna).
The development of stonecutting in Marcianopolis is also evidenced by the preserved architectural details. They date mainly to 2nd c. AD. A large part of them are from residential buildings –Dorian, Ionic, Corinth capitals.
Another city centre around which significant centres for stone mining were established is Nicopolis ad Istrum. Like Marcianopolis, it supplied stone material to a neighbouring centre – the legionary camp Novae. The quarries from which high-quality, hard, magnesian limestone was mined have been discovered and partially studied between the present-day villages of Hotnitsa and Samovodene, Veliko Turnovo region. The existence during the second quarter of 2nd c. of at least two quarries has been established. One of them is in the Kornitsa area and the other – in the Mogilite area. A third quarry which supplied Nicopolis ad Istrum and the region has been located near Sevlievo, near the present-day village of Kamenets.
A number of striking
tombstones and architectural details have been found on the territory and
the region of
Nicopolis ad Istrum. Typical products of stonecutting in Nicopolis ad Istrum
are the arch-shaped frieze-architrave blocks from mausoleum complexes near the city itself.
The stonecutters’ workshops on the territory of Nicopolis ad Istrum were several in numbers. This craft was among the most developed in the city. Evidence of this is also provided by the epigraphic monuments, which mention stonecutters from Asia Minor (from Nicomedia) who settled in Nicopolis ad Istrum in the 2nd c. AD.
It was as early as antiquity that a strict separation of the activities of the stonecutters who worked in the quarries existed. There were two main types: lapidarii – who dealt with the separation of the stone blocks and their preparation for construction, and marmorarii – who were responsible for the final forming of the stone blocks at site. The latter decided whether the blocks would be used for sarcophagi, tombstones, architectural details or if they would be used as ordinary construction material (quadra or tuffels).
The organization of the stone quarries was initially the responsibility of the Roman army. The legions located in Moesia Superior and Inferior (in Ratiaria, Oescus, Novae and Durostorum) had the task of organizing and developing the first stone quarries. This continued until the rule of the Flavius dynasty. When the northern Roman border was moved from Lower Danube to the Carpathians at the beginning of 2nd c. AD, the „military quarries“ gradually became private or municipal property and were controlled by the city management. The third type of stone quarries were the imperial ones. They developed in the domains and were managed by imperial delegates.
Most stone quarries in Moesia Inferior were managed by the city management. Such is the case in the regions of Nicopolis ad Istrum and Marcianopolis.
The chronological development of stonecutting in Moesia Superior and Inferior began as early as 1st c. AD. The first materials and monuments related to this craft are connected with the two earliest military camps – Ratiaria and Oescus. It is assumed that legio V Macedonica, which returned to its military camp in 71 AD, began to develop the stone deposits near the village of Kreta. The first stone fortress wall of Oescus dates from this period (71AD). After the appearance of the cities to the north of Hemus – the colonies Ulpia Oescus, Ulpia Ratiaria, Marcianopolis and Nicopolis ad Istrum – the other stone-mining centres and new stonecutters’ workshops appeared. The relative date of the appearance and beginning of their operation is the first quarter of 2nd c. AD. Undoubtedly, taking into account the variety and large number of stone monuments (burial, architectural, etc.) the peak in the development of stonecutting in Moesia Superior and Inferior is at the end of the Antonius and during the whole Severus age: the second half of 2nd – beginning of 3rd c. AD. After the middle of 3rd c. AD, an abrupt decline can be observed in the productivity of the stone quarries and stonecutters’ workshops in Moesia Superior and Inferior. Their gradual restoration took place during the last quarter of 3rd c. and after the reforms of Constantine the Great (306-337).
Zdravko Dimitrov
Atanasova, J., Gerasimova, V. – Атанасова, Й., Герасимова, В. Нови латински надписи от Рациария. – Известия на българското историческо дружество, том 32, 1978, с. 21-32.
Angelov, A. – Ангелов, А. Марцианопол. История и археология. Варна, 1999.
Velkov, I. – Велков, И. Светилището на богъ Митра при с. Крета, - Известия на археологическия институт, VІІІ, 1934, 82-91.
Velkov, Iv. – Велков, И. Vicus Trullensium, – Изследвания в чест на акад. Д. Дечев, послучай 80-годишнината му, 557-567.
Velkov, V. – Велков, В. Античният Дуросторум. – В: Дуросторум-Дръстър-Силистра. Сборник с изследвания на ИМ-Силистра. Силистра, 1988, стр. 25-32.
Gerov, B. – Геров, Б. Романизмът между Дунава и Балкана, І: От Август до Хадриан. – ГСУ ИФФ, т. XLV, (1948/49), кн. 4, 1949, с. 4-91.
Gerov, B. – Геров, Б. Романизмът между Дунава и Балкана, ІІ: От Хадриан до Константин Велики. – ГСУ ФФ, т. XLVII (1951/52), с. 17-105 и т. XLVIII (1952/53), 1953, с. 307-399.
Dimitrov, D. – Димитров, Д. П. Надгробните плочи от римско време в Северна България, София, 1942.
Ivanov, T., Ivanov, R. – Иванов, Т., Иванов Р. Никополис ад Иструм. т. І, София 1994.
Ivanov, T., Ivanov, R. – Иванов, Т., Иванов Р. Улпия Ескус. Римски и ранновизантийски град. т. І, София 1998.
Kabakchieva, G. - Кабакчиева, Г. Oescus. Castra Oescensia. Ранноримски военен лагер при устието на Искър. София, 2000.
Petrova, Sv. – Петрова, Св. Римо-йонийски капители от Мизия и Тракия (І – ІV в.), София, 1996.
Filov, B. – Филов, Б. Избрани паметници на Античното изкуство въ България. – Известия на българското археологическо дружество, т. І, 1910, с. 1-22.
Shkorpil, K. – Шкорпил, К. Абоба-Плиска, - Известия на руския археологически институт в Константинопол, Х, 1905.
Conrad, S. Die Grabstelen aus Moesia Inferior, Leipzig, 2004.
Dworakowska, A. Quarries in Roman Provinces, vol. 16, 1983.
Gerov, B. Inscriptiones latinae in Bulgaria repertae. (Inscriptiones inter Oescum et Iatrum repertae). MCMLXXXIX, Serdicae.
Perkins, J. B. W. Nicomedia and the marble trade. – Papers of the birtish School at Rome, Vol. XLVIII, 1980, p. 23-69.
The development of the ore mines in the lands south of Lower Danube has established
traditions from the period before the Roman conquest. Information about metal
mining and metal working in the tribes from ancient Thracia can be found
in the Iliad, the works of the ancient writers Herodot, Xenophont, Strabon
and others, referring mainly to the southern part of the Balkans. The large
number of treasures of gold and silver vessels, jewelry and other objects
from the pre-Roman Age discovered in present-day Bulgaria evidence the high
technological level of the Thracian toreutics craftsmen. At the same time,
the archaeological materials which indisputably prove the existence of ore
mining or processing of metals from the late Iron Age remain few (for example,
from the centres at Sboryanovo, Koprivlen, Pystiros, Seutopolis and other regions). After the establishment of the Roman provinces in the Balkan-Danube
region at the beginning of 1st c. AD active exploitation of the ore mines began, with a distinct administrative
status and organization, evidenced by epigraphic and archaeological data.
Some of the most significant Roman ore mining regions are located in the mountainous regions of the province Moesia – Superior and Inferior.
Present-day South Serbia and Kosovo have been defined as the location of metalla Dardaniae. The deposits along the rivers Ibar, Toplica, Yujna Morava to the springs of the Timok River were developed. Most developed were mining of silver (argentariae), lead, auriferous silver, as well as iron and copper. Several separate regions functioned in a distinct administrative area. It is assumed that the central administration was located in Ulpiana (present-day Grachanitsa). At present-day Grachanitsa, in the valley of Ibar river, a well-developed city centre has been studied, with representative architecture, temples and numerous epigraphic monuments, and traces of ore processing (large quantities of ore-containing slag). It is identified as Municipium D(ar)d(anorum) or the location of an ore centre m(etalla) m(unicipii)D(ar)d(anorum).
In the region south of Singidunum, in the northwestern part of Moesia Superior, ore mining was developed in the mountains Kosmai, Rudnik and Avala. This is where some of the richest deposits of argentiferous lead are located and their active exploitation in antiquity is evidenced by the large amount of slag obtained during ore processing in Kosmai (about 1 000 000 tons). Gold and copper were also mined. Demessus was probably located at present-day Stoynik, where a fortification (castrum) and a civil settlement have been excavated. The archaeological and metallurgic studies prove that argentiferous lead ore was processed (cerussite, galena), from which lead was extracted and through cupellation - silver. The stamped lead ingots (weighing about 250 – 300 kg) allow the identification of this ore area as metalla Tricorn(i)ensia, from which metal was exported to different regions of the Empire thanks to the convenient communications along the Danube river and Sava river through port Tricornium at present-day Ritopek.
The northeastern parts of present-day Serbia represent a distinct ore mining area along the rivers Pek, Brodica and Timok, famous for the copper, iron, gold, silver and lead deposits. Gold was also mined from the alluvial deposits through gold washing. It is assumed that the administrative centre of the region was Pincum, located at the mouth of the Pek River into the Danube River, which is why the area is called metalla Pincensia. The development of the deposits here is also evidenced archaeologically for the late antiquity period.
On the territory of the province Moesia located in present-day Bulgaria the largest concentration of traces of metallurgic activities is in the region of Montana, in the basin of the Ogosta Rive. Deposits of copper, argentiferous lead, gold and probably iron were developed. There are numerous examples of ancient underground galleries and particularly of washing of auriferous sand from the Ogosta River and its tributaries which led to large accumulations of processed mass. Evidence of the primary processing of ore is provided by the fragments from stone mills and other facilities for coarse grinding of the material, which have been discovered in many places. Iron ore mining and the primary processing of iron are evidenced by the findings of forging tools and metal ingots.
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The deposits in present-day Northwest Bulgaria were developed very actively and in later periods the preservation of this tradition can be seen in the toponymy of the region – Au: Zlataritsa [„zlato“= gold], Slatina (=Zlatina); Cu: Chiprovtsi, Chuprene; Fe: Zhelezna [from „zhelyazo“ = iron]. The specific significance of the Montana region is emphasized by the numerous ancient fortified points located in the basins of the Ogosta River and the upper streams of the Tsibritsa and Lom rivers, through which control over ore mining was exercised. In Montana itself, which was established as a military site, different military units from the Roman army in Moesia Inferior were located. In 2nd c. AD the settlements obtained the status of a municipium, where a state workshop officina for metal processing operated, evidenced epigraphically in 3rd c. There are no specific data about its operation but it is possible that it included metal working activities. It is assumed that thanks to the riches of the region the jewelry craft was well-developed in nearby Ratiaria.
The eastern parts of the province Moesia Inferior are not so rich in ore deposits and did not have the economic significance of the above areas. Nevertheless, the archaeological materials show that in the valley of the Danube River small local deposits of iron ore, mainly limonite, were developed. There are traces of mining and processing mainly in the region of Sexaginta Prista and Nicopolis ad Istrum.
According to the Roman principles,
ore deposits are exclusively state property, and the same applies to the
province Moesia. The most complete information available is about the regions
in Moesia Superior. The existence of specific monetary emissions with signs metalli Ulpiani Aeliana Pincecsia, metal Aurelianis, coined in Rome specifically for the ore regions in Moesia Superior, proves
their centralized management by the fiscus. The concentration of these coins is also evidence of the economic differentiation
of the region. The state ownership is demonstrated by the method of stamping
of the lead ingots. An ingot with the sign metallo Imp(eratoris) Aug(usti) on the upper surface and Q(uinti) Gn(orii) ? on one of the side surfaces from South Serbia, dated
at the end of 1st c. AD, evidence that metallurgy was imperial property and members of prominent
Italic families participated in it, possibly as concessionaries.
Each of the ore regions in Moesia Superior was governed by a procurator who in the age of the early Principate was an imperial slave or a freed one, and in later period – from the equites. The religious cults and epigraphic information prove that a significant part of the population and those developing separate ore sections were settlers from the Asia Minor provinces organized in professional associations – for example, colloni argentariae Dardanicum. The ore region had its borders (fines metallorum), within which there were settlements with different status and customs’ stations at the border with the provincial territory.
Less information is available on the organization of ore mining in the region of Montana where certain functions were most probably carried out by the Roman army.
Anastasia Cholakova
Avdeev, S. - Авдев, Ст. История на златодобива по българските земи. София, 2005.
Aleksandrov, G. - Александров, Г. Антични крепости в района на Монтана. – В: Чипровци 1688-1968. София 1971, 115-132.
Popovich, I (ed.) - Античко сребро у Србиjи (ред. И. Поповић). Београд, 1994.
Velkov, V. - Велков, В. Рудодобиване и минно дело в Древна Тракия. – Годишник на Националния политехнически музей, 2, 1972, 23-39.
Georgiev, G. - Георгиев, Г. Полезните изкопаеми от времето на траките. София, 1987.
Konyarov, G. - Коняров, Г. Принос към историята на рударството и металургията в България. София, 1953.
Maksimov, E. - Максимов, Е. Старото рударство и металургия в Чипровци. – В: Чипровци 1688-1968. София 1971, 133-154..
Popov, Hr. - Попов, Хр. Археометалургия на желязната епоха в българските земи – състояние и перспективи на проучванията. – Археология, 2004, 1-2, 33-41.
Popovich, I - Поповић, И. Античко оруђе од гвожђа у Србији. (Народни музеј – Монографије, књига 5). Београд, 1988.
Dušanić, S. Aspects of Roman mining in Noricum, Pannonia, Dalmatia and Moesia Superior. – Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt, II.6. Berlin – New York, 1977, 52-94.
Merkel, J. F. A report on Imperial Roman production of lead and silver in Upper Moesia (Serbia and Montenegro). - In: "Metallurgy – a touchstone for cross-cultural interaction", 28- 30 April 2005, The British Museum, Abstracts. London 2005, 103.