Mediana
Mediana/Medijana | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Roman Villa |
Location | Medijana, Niš, Serbia |
Construction started | 306 |
Demolished | 442 |
Client | Constantine the Great |
Archeological Site of Exceptional Importance | |
Designated | 9 February 1949 |
Reference no. | AN 22[1] |
Mediana is an important archeological site from the late
History
Constantine the Great (280–337) was born and raised in Naissus. He erected a majestic residence in one of the luxurious suburbs of ancient Naissus, where he often resided and attended to state affairs. Historical records testify it was in Naissus that he passed several laws – in 315, 319, 324, and 334.
After Constantine's death in 337, the imperial residence in Mediana was used by several other emperors, either as a place of rest on their long journeys or during preparations for war. Thus, Constantine's sons, Constantius II and Constans, stayed in Naissus in the winter of 340, for they signed an edict there. Later on, Constans used it as a temporary residence. According to the Hieronimus' Chronicles, after Vetranio, commander of the Danubian army, had been proclaimed emperor in Sirmium, he surrendered the insignia of imperial power to Constantius II in Naissus, doubtless at the imperial villa, in 350.
According to Olympiodorus of Thebes, Naissus was the native town of another Roman emperor – Constantius III, husband of Galla Placidia, father of Valentinian III.
In 364 AD, Imperial Villa Mediana was the site where emperors Valentinian and Valens met and divided the Roman Empire and ruled as co-emperors[2]
The residence was abandoned after the city of Naissus was devastated by Attila's hordes in 442.
Site
The residence was erected on flat terrain, on an area which covers over 400,000 square metres, on a high bank, some distance from the river, at the foot of the hills which frame the
Villa
The villa occupies the central position in Mediana. The villa comprises an area of about 6.000 m² (98,6 x 63 m) and included
Thermae
Granary
The Granary (horreum) is located about 150 metres west of the villa. This is a spacious rectangular building (91 x 27 m), with the longitudinal axis oriented east-west. Along the west wall there were basins 1.40 m deep, which served for storing liquids, (olive oil and wine).
Water tower
A
Churches
Two Early Christian churches have been excavated, both built simultaneously sometime after 378. The first church was unearthed in 2000, when a monogram of Jesus was found. Only 8 metres south of the first, a second church was excavated in 2007, among the findings was a bronze ring with a cross. The findings are evidence of Mediana being a highly Christian community.[3]
As of July 2019 the site is closed for visitors with information it is under construction works but without a re-opening date indicated.'
Genetics
Olalde et al. 2021 examined two males buried at Mediana between the late 4th and early 5th centuries. These individuals had artificially deformed skulls characteristic of Germanic peoples, and are presumed to have belonged to the Gothic cultural circle. Genetic analysis suggested that these individuals were mostly of North Central European ancestry, with slight Iron Age steppe admixture, which is compatible with Germanic peoples.[4] One male carried the paternal haplogroup I1a2a1a1a/I-Z141 and the maternal haplogroup H5b, while the other carried the maternal haplogroup H41a.[5] Haplogroup I1 is characteristic of Northern Europe and has not been found in the Balkans earlier, suggesting gene flow from the north.[6]
See also
- Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance
43°18′37″N 21°56′56″E / 43.3102777778°N 21.9488888889°E
References
- ^ "Информациони систем непокретних културних добара".
- ^ "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2: Chapter XXV: Reigns of Jovian and Valentinian, Division of the Empire. Part II".
- ^ "Политика Online".
- ^ Olalde et al. 2021, Supplementary Material, pp. 8-9. "The archaeological and historical context indicates these individuals belonged to the Gothic cultural circle... In connection with this, both individuals present artificially deformed skulls which were characteristic of Germanic tribes during the Great Migration period... [T]he skull bandaging method observed for these two individuals corresponds with other examples of cranial deformation previously observed in Germanic necropolises... The analysis of this sample points towards them having Central-North European Iron Age- related ancestry, admixed with a small yet significant portion of Iron Age Steppe related ancestry".
- ^ Olalde et al. 2021, Supplementary Table 1, columns 55-56
- ^ Olalde et al. 2021. "Y-chromosome lineages also provide evidence for gene-flow, as 5 of 7 males in the Central/Northern European and Steppe cluster belonged to two lineages not found in the Balkans earlier: haplogroup I1 with a strong Northern European distribution and haplogroup R1a-Z645, common in the Steppe during the Iron Age and early 1st millennium CE. The Roman Empire had a prolonged history of contact with Germanic tribes, whose homelands were in Northern Europe between the Rhine and Vistula rivers. During the Great Migration period groups that coalesced as the Goths moved southwards, and settled at the Black Sea north coast prior to their entry in the Roman Empire. Our observations are consistent with the hypothesis that such tribes interacted with Steppe-related nomadic populations reaching the Eastern European plateau, and incorporated their ancestry into their gene pool before moving into the Balkans."
Sources
- Olalde, Iñigo; et al. (August 31, 2021). "Cosmopolitanism at the Roman Danubian Frontier, Slavic Migrations, and the Genomic Formation of Modern Balkan Peoples". . Retrieved September 12, 2021.
External links
- О МЕДИЈАНИ on Mediana, including building floorplans.
- [1] opening hours, prices, but no information on current closure