Bulgaria, Iatrus-Krivina

Since 1992 the Roman-Germanic Commission - together with the Archaeological Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Scienes and the historical local museum of Ruse - has carried out research in the late Roman fort Iatrus situated on the the right shore of the lower Danube.

Location

The military fort was situated on the northern border of the Roman Empire on a rise protected from flooding near the river mouth of the Jantra (ancient name Iatrus) on the right shore of the Danube (present-day Bulgaria, 30 km east of Svistov).

History

The military fort Iatrus was established at the beginning of the fourth century A. D. to protect the Roman border. Approximately 500 cavalrymen belonging to the legio I Italica were stationed here. In the second half of the fourth century A. D. substantial changes to the architecture were made, which probably went hand in hand with a changing garrison. After the total destruction of the border fort by the huns in the forties of the fifth century A. D. it was re-erected only around 500 A. D. Another rebuild took place under the reign of Iustinian (527-565). In the first years of the seventh century A. D. the limes at the lower Danube and accordingly Iatrus were finally abandoned. Later, a Slawic-Bulgarian settlement was built on the ruins of the fort, but since the late tenth century the former area of the fort has never been re-occupied. 

Objectives

It is planned to clarify the ground plan of the fort. Additionally, research on selected sites in the surrounding area will further our knowledge regarding infrastructure (e. g. road system, settlement pattern) and religious (e. g. burial sites) and economic activities in this border zone. 

Previous Activities

	Plan von Iatrus. Alle Phasen

Excavations were carried out from 1958 to 1981 by the Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin (since 1970 the Akademie der Wissenschaften of the DDR) in cooperation with the Archaeological Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, Sofia. The project has been administered by the Roman-Germanic Commission since 1992.
Of the original frontier fort, measuring approximately 3 hectares, more than half has been examined during 24 excavation campaigns. Substantial parts of the fort (e. g. walls, streets, Principia, Praetorium, barracks, storage houses) were found. The 300-year history of the fort can be divided into four settlement phases. Already in the second half of the fourth century A. D. the first Christian church was built in Iatrus. It was destroyed twice, but each time it was rebuilt and enlarged.
With our detailed knowledge of the ground plan of the fort and of the development of the settlement pattern in the late Roman period (4.-6. century A. D.) Iatrus is playing an important role in the interpretation of the late phase of the limes at the lower Danube. This is true for the architecture as a whole and single buildings as well as for the typology and chronology of the pottery and other find groups. 

Current Work

From 1997 till 2001 a field project financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft was carried out in the surroundings of Iatrus. With the help of field walking, air photography and geophysical investigation it was possible to prove that the lowlands around the river-mouth of the Jantra were densely populated from the Neolithic till the late Middle Ages throughout. Even traces of palaeolithic occupation were found.
In the campaign of 2002 some of the sites recognized during field prospection in the vicinity of the fort were excavated. Apart from settlement traces corresponding chronologically with the late Roman fort and the early medieval settlement some finds were made which date to the middle Roman empire (2./3. century AD). This leads back to question whether or not there was an earlier (middle Roman) fort at this strategically important river-mouth.

Of the series Iatrus-Krivina five volumes have been published so far. Volumes 6 and 7 are in preparation. They will deal with the results of the excavations 1992-2000 (Vol. 6, to be published in 2004) and the field prospection (Band 7), respectively. 

Cooperation

Research is carried out together by the Roman-Germanic Commission, the Archaeological Institute with Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sofia and the Historical local museum Ruse. Furthermore, German and Bulgarian archaeological students participate in the excavations, and scientists of different disciplines take part in analyzing and publishing the results. 

Contact

Dr. phil. Gerda Sommer-von Bülow

Römerzeit
Telefon: 069-975818-32
Telefax: 069-975818-38
Email: vonbuelow@rgk.dainst.de

Sponsors

Bibliography

Iatrus-Krivina. Vol. 1-5.
Numerous articles; summary: G. v. Bülow, Das spätantike Kastell Iatrus am Unterdonau-Limes in Bulgarien. Ber. RGK 75, 1994, 5-22.