Roman Emona

A fragment of an inscription slab (probably made of Podpeč limestone) with a funerary inscription has been
found more than 2 years ago at a parking lot in Spodnja Šiška, Ljubljana (Slovenia). Our paper begins with the epigraphic analysis of the inscription and continues with the potential onomastic solutions. Additionally, we discuss its possible connection to the northern necropolis of Colonia Iulia Emona (Ljubljana), or alternatively, to a small settlement nucleus near Stara cerkev in Spodnja Šiška.

This book represents the last chapter in the story unfolding in 2014 and 2015 that commemorated the
bimillenary of the foundation of Emona (Colonia Iulia Emona), the Roman-period predecessor of the
modern Ljubljana. The territory of Emona has witnessed numerous archaeological investigations over the last two
decades, both in the urban areas, the suburbs and the adjacent cemeteries.

Med emonskimi grobišči je najbolje poznano severno, ki so ga raziskovali že od sredine 17. stoletja. Razprostiralo se je od današnjega Kongresnega trga do Linhartove ceste ter od Komenskega in Miklošičeve ulice do Delavskega doma ter SNG Opere in baleta. Skupaj je bilo izkopanih že prek 3000 grobov.

V knjigi so predstavljeni rezultati sistematičnih arheoloških raziskav, ki so potekale v letih 2010, 2011 in 2013 na najdišču Ljubljana – Parkirno garažna hiša Kozolec med današnjima Kersnikovo in Slovensko cesto. Raziskanih in objavljenih je 61 grobov. Grobovi so bili natančno ročno izkopani, natančno so bili dokumentirani tudi ostanki pokojnikov in najdbe v grobovih.

Avtorji so se pri zasnovi ozirali na dva imperativa sodobnih akademskih raziskav: to sta interdisciplinarnost in medinstitucionalno sodelovanje. Zato so k sodelovanju pritegnili strokovnjake z različnih področij: biologije, geologije, fizične antropologije in arheologije. To prihajajo iz različnih ustanov, od muzejskih, spomeniškovarstvenih prek izobraževalnih in raziskovalnih ter celo iz zasebnega sektorja. Pri pisanju prispevkov je sodelovalo deset avtorjev, saj obravnavane teme presegajo znožnosti in znanje posameznika ali majhne skupine.

In the paper, we discuss Roman decorated oil lamps as bearers of political propaganda, focusing on example of oil lamp from Roman Emona (Ljubljana, Slovenia). The lamp bears an image of armed horseman, raising his hand with wreath. We believe that the motive was borrowed directly from a coin or a group of coins, depicting the equestrian monument of  Octavian.

In the last decade an increased number of digitised and digitally born cultural heritage (CH) content in the form of texts, images, sound recordings, videos and 3D models can be observed. This material is frequently disseminated in an incoherent way on various websites. The paper deals with the potential of interactive television (ITV) for aggregation, integration and presentation of different types of CH content. Based on cloud computing and HTML5, the ITV upgraded with tools for social communication and compatibility with the other content management systems (CMS), is becoming a new type of tool for information exchange. Access is possible via mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. thus it is not limited to the use of TV sets (four-screen strategy). The ITV of CH (ITVCH) is not just a medium but also a platform for networking of all those interested in heritage content. During the Virtual Emona project, archaeological objects and a model of archaeological site were 3D digitised and published (3D-PDF and metadata) in the Digital Library of Slovenia – dlib.si; they were soon accessible also through Europeana. In this paper, the special attention is paid to the further interpretation of Roman Emona (modern-day Ljubljana) on the ITVCH. The e-book on Emona (i-Emona) including 3D objects from Virtual Emona, is presented. A multimedia e-book can stand alone or it can be one of the integrated content of the ITVCH. It enables setting and publishing of text, video, image galleries, interactive HTML5 animations, 3D objects, questionnaires and external frames – therefore it represents a new generation of presentation tools, intended to content holders with less technical skills to share their content with a wider public. Multimedia e-book is based on four-screen platform as well.

In November 2015 the archaeological excavations of Slovenska cesta, on the site of Insula XIII in ancient Emona, yielded an iron ring set with a gem. The gem features a war galley with clearly visible oars, stem, stern and battering ram (rostrum). Above the ship are two signa militaria, military standards used by centuries. The shape of the ring suggests the 1stcentury AD, while the style of the gem points to the 1st or 2nd century. The gem is made of nicolo, a type of chalcedony. Gemstone rings were used to seal documents, the image mirroring the taste and iden-tity  of  the  owner.  Although  depictions  of  ships  are  rare,  some  analogies  were  found,  the  closest being a gem preserved at London’s British Museum. The model for the motif was sought on coins, where depictions of ships and/or military standards were common in the Roman  period.  The  dating  of  the  ring  narrowed  the  search  down  to  coins  from  the  Late  Republic and the Principate. The closest counterpart was a series of Mark Antony’s coins, extensively minted in 32–31 BC before the naval battle at Actium. The obverse of these de-narii displays a galley with an inscription referring to Antony’s rank as augur and triumvir. The inscriptions on the reverse name various military units and are accompanied by three military standards: two century standards, just like the Emona gem, and the eagle (aquila), a  legion’s  standard.  The  craftsman  of  the  Emona  gem  presumably  modelled  his  motif  on  these coins or on a similar series.Our  image  stands  out  because  naval  motifs  are  surprisingly  rare  in  Roman  statuary,  particularly considering the significance of civil and military sea transport for the Roman state. This choice may be attributed to the owner’s military past or his pride in belonging to the victorious Roman state.

Eleven inscriptions, discovered on as yet unpublished fragments of monuments from the territory of Roman Emona, are discussed in this contribution. The monuments, kept in the City Museum of Lju-bljana, were most probably discovered in the secondary position and date from the 1st to the 3rd century AD.