![]() ![]() This volume contains the proceedings of the 27th annual conference dedicated to major Issues in the Protohistory of the Middle Danube. They are primarily termini technici used in historical research and hence expressions of thought patterns and interpretative models which must be subjected to critical scrutiny. Categories such as ‘Late Roman’, ‘Early Christian’ or ‘Early Byzantine’ appear in this context as competing concepts that describe chronologically and geographically overlapping phenomena. The time between AD 300 and 800 is seen as a period of transition between Antiquity and the Middle Ages archaeologists and historians increasingly acknowledge its existence under the term ‘Late Antiquity’ as a period in its own right. It is the fi rst such site in north-western Croatia to shed light on the Early Christian world of the western part of Pannonia Savia. Th us, Lonja is a Late Antique fortifi ed hilltop settlement with an Early Christian church. Although the excavations of the church are not complete and the analysis of the fi nds has yet to be carried out, it is likely that the church of Lonja was built in the late fourth or fi ft h century AD, and was used until the middle of the sixth century. ![]() In the northeastern corner of the nave, next to the subselia, there was a small piscina. Two steps, built to the north, lead up to the presbyterium. ![]() Th e nave contains an apsidal priest‘s bench with a bema. Th e northern and southern sides probably had symmetrical utility room, the northern side being unexcavated. Its construction is simple, with one nave without narthex, the whole measuring 11 m × 14 m. Although the church has not yet been fully excavated, its plan can be reconstructed. Th e ruins of an Early Christian church were discovered inside this fortifi ed area. Th e central area of this complex occupies a spacious plateau (even allowing for the fortifi cations) which off ers the best possible protection. Th e site is well defended, partly by steep slopes and partly by a system of fortifi cations. However, some years ago a large Roman complex was discovered on a hilltop (with two summits) in a hilly area south of the Drava valley: Lonja. Th ese sites are located in the lowlands, near major roads and rivers. Although some of the larger and more important ancient Roman urban areas have been excavated on and off for years, they have rarely produced Early Christian fi nds. Our view of the Early Christian period in north-western Croatia is incomplete and this is largely owed to the lack of archaeological research. Having surveyed similar burials of that date from Corinth, Pergamon, present-day Albania and Sardinia, we are in favour of interpreting them in the context of social changes which occurred at a time of crisis in the Empire, and not in ethnic terms. Being very diff erent from the sixth-century Roman burials, they were commonly attributed to migratory mercenaries of the Empire. Such graves are rarely found throughout the Byzantine Empire. The anthropological analysis indicates that the deceased had military training. Alongside them there was a purse buckle, also a characteristic early seventh-century Byzantine product. Th e belt consists of pressed bronze sheet strap-ends and a cast bronze buckle. In the grave, a 30–40 year old male was buried with his belt and a battle axe. ![]() Th e locality is situated in the southernmost part of present-day Serbia, in the South Morava valley, on the route of the Roman Via publica. In the course of rescue excavations in 2011 a grave was found at the Davidovac-Gradište site. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |