Roman province of Macedonia

The excavations of the theatre at Stobi in the past 12 years have brought to light many new discoveries regarding the construction, use and abandonment of the building. Particularly interesting are the masons’ marks discovered on the walls. They were created during the construction process in the first and second phase of the building. The dipinti from the first phase (end of 1st century or beginning of 2nd century AD) are in the form of multiple red lines and Roman numerals. The graffiti from the second phase (first half of the 2nd century AD) are incised in the mortar joints and they represent floral and stylized motifs. The paper discusses the masons’ marks in the context of similar discoveries and offers an interpretation of their occurrence on the walls of the Roman theatre at Stobi.

The coinage with the name of the Macedonian regions ranks second after what has been known as mass silver coinages on the Balkans in the period 2nd - 1st century BC. With its about 200 obverse and 680 reverse registered dies (including imitations), it ranges with the coinage periods during which the real change of the financial system in Thrace took place in the transition from late Hellenism to the Roman age. Initiated as a regular coinage in the regions of the last Macedonian Kingdom, it was finalized by the Roman administrators in the province of Macedonia.

The silver coins of the Macedonian regions can be hardly found on the territory of Macedonia. They were highly concentrated to the north and northwest of Thrace. This was the money paid to Thracian notables for their efficient military units which were then directed far from Thrace. Thus, the local Thracian chieftains gave up their sovereignty in return for material and financial security provided to them by Rome.

To accomplish their goal, the Romans must have invested in this coinage about 35 tonnes of silver particularly for this coinage - a good price for their comfort. However, we should not forget that this was not the money of Roman citizens but resources belonging to the already conquered nations and their lands.

"Настоящата статия представя първи опит за корпус на рядкото монетосечене на град Хераклея Синтика (локализиран при дн. Рупите край Петрич) в северна Македония. Включени и анализирани са 18 екземпляра от единствения известен монетен тип на града. Той има следното описание (Friedländer 1879, pp. 237-238; Gaebler 1935, p. 63, no. 1, taf. 14.6; SNG Cop. Macedonia 182; Liampi 1998, p. 126, M67-М68):
Лице: • H P A K Λ E W T W N • околовръст (понякога с малки точки разделящи буквите) на украсен и релефен македонски щит, всичко в зрънчест кръг.
Опако: EПI СTP / YMONI от двете страни на кривака на Херакъл, изправен вертикално, всичко в зрънчест кръг.
Бронз, диаметър 14-17мм, 2,65–4,30 грама.
Стилово се разграничават се три варианта на монетния тип (два описани у Liampi 1998, p. 126):
Вариант A): Лице: легендата внимателно изписана с разделителни точки между буквите, щитът украсен с три големи кръга, разположени в триъгълник, с едри точки в центъра им, зрънчест кръг между щита и надписа. Опако: Легендата разположена в окръжност около кривака, едър зрънчест кръг (7 екземпляра документирани).
Вариант Б): Лице: по-небрежно изписване на легендата, без разделителни точки, щитът украсен пак с три по-малки кръга, между тях серия от точки. Опако: Надписът в две прави линии около кривака, понякога без зрънчест кръг (10 екземпляра).
Вариант В): Лице: Като при Б, но щитът е украсен с четири окръжности – три встрани и една точно в средата, борд от права линия между щита и надписа. Опако: Същото като Б (1 екземпляр).
На основата на тези три варианта се разграничават едва 4 лицеви и 4 гърбови печата, с които са били отсечени монетите. Eдна от тях (№ 11) е препечатка – отсечена върху друга, по-стара и чужда монета от неидентифициран тип.   
Средното тегло на бронзовете на Хераклея е 3,18 гр., вариращо между 2,42 и 4,30 грама. По този начин то отговаря на тегловния стандарт на монетарницата в Тесалоника и на серията KOINON MAKEΔONΩN без образ на император – равностойно на 1 римски quadrans, наричан също и номинал ¼ асарий (RPC I, p. 288; RPC II, pp. 70, 73).
На цялата серия името на града е изписано като Ήρακλε™των έπι Στρυμόνι, т.е. [монета] на хераклейците [тази, която лежи] край [река] Струма” (реката в дателен падеж).
На основата на сравнителен анализ с иконографията на други серии отсечени в провинция Македония (RPC І, №№ 1619-1622, 1624), палеографските особености на буквите в надписа и на една наскоро публикувана находка от благоевградския музей намерена при с. Долна Рибница, Петричко (вж. сега CCCHBulg 4 (2014), pp. 17, 150-154, №№ 1205-1223), за пръв път е предложена абсолютна датировка на монетната серия на Хераклея Синтика в късните години на император Траян – ранен Хадриан (около 110/115 – 130 г.), което не противоречи и на историческите данни (Геров 1961, pp. 193-194; Mitrev 2003, p. 270). "

The paper presents two archaeological finds from the Prespa region with a possible connection to the "Gnostic" ideas of antiquity.
The first find is a bronze ring from the site Pločite near the village of Nakolec on the eastern shore of the Prespa Lake. The ring bears the inscription "ΑΒΡΑ / СΑΞ", leading us to the mythological being Abrasax from Gnostic tradition.
The other artifact is a small glass handle found on the floor of an Early Christian basilica on the island of Golem Grad. The glass handle is shaped as an Ouroboros - a dragon eating its own tail, one of the most common symbols in Gnosticism.
Then, in an attempt to understand and reconstruct the possible communication route(s) through which Gnostic ideas might have reached the Prespa region, the paper explores the archaeological evidence of Gnosticism and other "oriental" cults on the territory of the Roman province of Macedonia in correlation to major roads and settlements. The Via Egnatia and the eastward towns around the Thessalonica port are suggested as the most probable communication channel through which Gnostic ideas might have reached the Prespa region.
At the end, the paper asks several questions for future research and discussion, ranging from whether the already existing local religious traditions represented a good environment for welcoming Gnostic ideas, to whether the possible existence of Gnostic teachings in antiquity contributed to the strong Bogomil presence in the region during the Middle Ages.

In: E. Nankov (ed.). Sandanski and its Territory during Prehistory, Antiquity and Middle Ages, Current Trends in Archaeological Research. Proceedings of an International Conference at Sandanski, September 17–20, 2015 (Papers of the American Research Center in Sofia, 3). Veliko Tarnovo, 2017, 144–151.

This paper is concerned with bone spinning tools from the archaeological site of Stobi in the Republic of Macedonia. Most of the spinning tools come from burials, although there were a few tools discovered in the settlement. The earliest bone spinning tool dates to the late 1 st century B.C. while the youngest are found in contexts from the 6 th century A.D. The spinning tools are grouped into spindle whorls, spindles, and distaffs. Possible changes in the thickness of the spun thread in different periods can be seen through the different shape and weight of the presented spindle whorls. The irregular dispersions visible at the bottom side of two of these spindle whorls reveal the method of fastening the whorl to the spindle. Although spindles differ in the shape of their upper end, this cannot be associated with their chronological determination. What is in common for spindles is the burial context of discovery. The case is similar with the hand held distaffs, where three out of the four discovered thus far have burial contexts. By introducing other scholars' research for these types of distaffs along with the attributes of examples from Stobi, the assumptions of their apotropaic and symbolic use will be discussed.

Based on published material, this paper focuses on the role of women in the region of Macedonia under the Roman rule. Since the Roman conquest of Macedonia, the female role evolved significantly in fields such as business, religion, benefactions, or patronage. Female participation in public events becomes evident through inscriptions from which we learn that women too held important offices within the civic and religious sphere. The image that we have so far from the province of Macedonia is that women are visible and active in their religious  and civic roles, as members of associations and as euergetai during the early years or the roman presence, but it is only from the 2nd century AD onwards that they are recorded also as patrons.  Further research is needed so as to shed more light on this phaenomenon, so as to clarify the activities and the social status of women in Macedonia under the Romans.
This discussion deals with yet another aspect of the process of Romanization in the provinces, aiming to highlight the role of women in the province of Macedonia during the Roman period, thus acknowledging Macedonia as an important piece of the vast mosaic of the Roman Empire and showing that it participated in every aspect of the roman way of life.

This course lecture consisted an overview of the sculptural production of Macedonia from the late Hellenistic period to the late Imperial period (4th-5th century AD). It presented relief and round sculpture, from the entire region of ancient ​​Macedonia, emphasising on works deriving from some of the major Macedonian cities (Thessaloniki, Veria, Drama, Filippi, Thassos, Dion, Morillos, Kallindoia, etc.).
The material was categorised:
• Sculpture from Macedonian Sanctuaries (Cult-Votive).
• Sculpture from temples of the Imperial Cult.
• Sculpture from Public Buildings (Gymnasiums, Agoras-Fora, Palaces, Triumphal Arches, Fountains, Theaters, Odeia, etc.)
• Funerary Sculpture (Reliefs with Banquets or Horsemen, Tonda, Macedonian Altars, imported and Local Sarcophagi, etc.).
Part of the discussion regarded the influences and/or originality of the local sculptural workshops of Macedonia and their different artistic quality and expression.

The Isiac cults in Macedonia flourished from the end of the fourth century BCE throughout Roman times, following maritime routes and road infrastructure. The principal road was via Egnatia, connecting
the cities along the west-east axis. Concurrently, the south-north connections benefitted from the rivers – here considering mainly Axios and Strymon – supporting the inland movement of products, people, and
cults from the Aegean shores. It is not a coincidence that two important ports, Thessalonica and Amphipolis, situated close to the estuaries of the above-mentioned rivers, preserve the oldest evidence of the Isiac deities’ presence in the area. The urban settlements were hubs, welcoming those cults as part of a web of communication between cities, amplifying religious exchange. This research aims to highlight
aspects of maritime and road connectivity in Hellenistic and Roman Macedonia, resulting in religious interactions and the creation of a dense network on which the Isiac deities prospered. This communication was manifested in global and local forms of rituals, dedications, and statue
iconography, creating an environment that promoted new social balances and shaped politics and ritual practices within each urban context. Therefore, the research questions unfold around the religious
network created around these deities. We first focus on the material that sheds light on the diverse features that the Isiac cults acquired (maritime, agricultural, Roman, local assimilations) in relation to the
urban landscape. Then, we turn to the agents: the negotiatores arriving from Delos to the north Aegean cities, the colonists, the people crossing the military roads were all actors participating in the formation of this religious network. The impact that the Isiac cults had on the self-perception of the citizens and their civic identities is also examined. Finally, questions around the impact that these cults had on urban
memory across these communities are answered.

The presence of virtues in Antiquity is an underestimated subject in modern bibliography. However, since the classical age, virtues such as ‘Tyche’ (‘Fortuna’) and ‘Nike’ (‘Victoria’) were individual divinities, which could shape every man’s destiny and provide their gifts. As power was bestowed upon one person during the Hellenistic and Imperial age, the need to justify his position was crucial. In religious terms, this was possible directly through the worship of the princeps or indirectly through the adoration of his virtues. 

Thus, in this essay the worship and the promotion of the Roman emperor’s individually deified achievements and his relevant virtues in the provinces of Achaea and Macedonia during the first three dynasties are being analysed. The concentrated data consists of 39 inscriptions and 204 coins and can lead to certain conclusions. In the ‘Introduction’, the previous bibliography (1.1) as well as the presence of the virtues since the Hellenistic era and the age of the res publica (1.2) are examined. The second part begins with a short study of the virtues as cities’ formal titles (2.1). Afterwards, the promotion and the worship of the imperial Victory (‘Victoria Augusta’) throughout the inscriptions and the coinage of the aforementioned provinces is thoroughly analysed. In the next subchapter, the various virtues, which were honoured and worshipped in Achaea and Macedonia, are examined (2.3). In addition, in the third part the inscriptions of the imperial virtues are interpreted in relation to the topography and the date of their dedication (3.1 and 3.2 respectively). Additionally, a prosopographical analysis of the dedicators and the priests of these virtues is necessary in order to clarify what kind of people chose to be connected with such virtues (3.3). Finally, the examination of the inscriptions per ‘Greek’ cities and ‘Roman’ colonies is also essential in order to determine in which communities this phenomenon was more widespread (3.4).

In conclusion, the plurality of the imperial achievements and virtues which could be honoured and worshipped by the cities collectively or by citizens individually is impressive. Roman colonies, such as Corinth, Nicopolis and Philippi and cities, such as Athens or Gytheion, participated actively in this practice. All cities established new cults or erected altars and statues to the imperial virtues, often responding to events in Rome, in the borders of the Empire or even within the cities themselves. Thus, a hidden clue of Roman Greece is unearthed; Cities and individuals, mainly members of the civic elite, chose to approximate the imperial virtues and successes in order to be displayed as well as to share a portion from the majesty of the Roman Imperium and his princeps. Eventually, the worship of the imperial virtues encloses many themes, as the personal ethics, the sacred identity of cities and colonies, the provincial elite, the virtues and the predominant figure of the emperor. The old subject of ‘Romanisation’, which appears often among researchers, seeks here answers; What was the impact of the worship and promotion of the imperial virtues in the process of ‘Romanisation’ of these provinces?

Dion: The Severan Curia.

In the time of Augustus Dion acquired the status of Roman colony and was from then on governed under the Roman administrative model. This is reflected in the construction of the Severan forum, which follows the Italian, enclosed layout. A colonnade runs around a paved central square at the sides of which are set the Augustaeum, the basilica and, next to it, the curia. Three doors on the southern side of the basilica give access to the curia. Today only the foundations of the curia survive, but the original height of the building can be estimated using the rules proposed by Vitruvius. It is likely that the walls were painted in imitation marble and information from excavations suggests that a wooden structure ran along the longest two sides, perhaps a stepped platform similar to the stone steps in other curiae where the benches of the decuriones sat, most probably in four rows at each side. According to my calculations, from the Severan era onwards the curia of Dion could hold at least two hundred decuriones.

Keywords: Dion; imperial era; administration; city councils and assembly buildings; basilicas.

This paper discusses Eros figures as depicted in funerary monuments from the region of Macedonia during the roman period. They are presented in a variety of types, both in round sculpture and in reliefs supplemented with their most common attribute, the inverted torch. Their depictions are divided in two types; the type where Eros is leaning on the inverted torch which is placed under his left armpit and the type where Eros is holding the torch at his lowered right hand. Another significant type is the one where Eros figures are depicted reclining and sleeping. The intense presence of this type in funerary monuments during the roman period, along with the interpretation of the inverted torch as a funerary attribute, has ascribed these figures the characterisation of Eros funéraire or Eros-Thanatos. The discussion regarding the funerary symbolisms that Eros figures carry is long. Some scholars recognise the sleeping Eros as Somnus, namely the eternal Sleep of Death. Others understand them as Genius of Death (Todesgenius), or Genius of Grief (Trauergenius). In any case they all refer to the eternal sadness of death and place this figure in the sphere of the ever after. Especially when used in the funerary monuments of children it accentuates the parental grief for the unjust and premature death of their children. On the other hand, the representation of Eros as an infant symbolises the eternal beauty of youth and the hope of the family that their deceased child will continue enjoying their childhood in a beautiful place. The discussion is based on already published relief and round sculpture from Macedonia and will evolve around the image and notion of death during the roman period, as well as the familial bonds and social structure that these monuments reveal. Issues regarding the origin of the motif will be also of reference.

Rescue Archaeological Research on the site Sveti Spas, in Territory of Village Lascarevo, Municipality of Sandanski.

During the archaeological research six graves were registered (fig. 1-2). They consist of rectangular pits, orientated E–W, dug into the bedrock. Graves Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6 are covered with stone plates. What makes an impression is that in grave № 4 two of the plates are vertically situated, most probably they were displaced from their original positions. The burial practices are inhumations, as the skeletons are laid on their backs with stretched feet and hands crossed over the pelvis. At grave № 1 the skull is turned at 180º, the thorax is displaced, which indicates a secondary interference. Similar interference was also noted at grave № 2, where the bones were scattered in the grave’s pit and a big part of the skeleton was missing. No grave inventory was found in any of the excavated graves. Based on the type of the burial structures it could be supposed that the necropolis refers to the period of the Late Antiquity, 4th–6th c. AD.

Η περιοχή που σήμερα οριοθετούμε ως δήμο Δεσκάτης, κατά την αρχαιότητα δεν αποτελούσε μία ενιαία και αδιαίρετη περιοχή, και για τον λόγο αυτόν προκύπτουν αρκετές δυσκολίες όσον αφορά τον καθορισμό της αρχαίας της τοπογραφίας. Το βορειότερο τμήμα του σημερινού δήμου που διαρρέεται από τον Αλιάκμονα και τον παραπόταμο του, καθώς και το κεντρικό τμήμα, εντάσσονται από τους ερευνητές στην Ελίμεια της Άνω Μακεδονίας. Στην παραπάνω περιοχή βρίσκονται σήμερα οι οικισμοί της Παναγίας, της Παλιουριάς, της Δήμητρας, του Καρπερού και της Κατάκαλης. Το ανατολικό και νοτιοανατολικό τμήμα του δήμου, που αντιστοιχεί στην περιοχή της κωμόπολης της Δεσκάτης, καθώς και των γειτονικών οικισμών της Παρασκευής, του Διασελλακίου, του Δασοχωρίου και του Γηλόφου, κατά τους ιστορικούς N. G. L. Hammond και Δ. Κ. Σάμσαρη θα πρέπει να ανήκε στην αρχαία Περραιβία. Τέλος, το δυτικό και νοτιοδυτικό τμήμα του δήμου Δεσκάτης, όπου βρίσκονται οι οικισμοί Τριφύλλι, Τρικοκκιά και Άνοιξη, ενδεχομένως να ανήκε στην αρχαία Τυμφαία, χωρίς όμως να είναι δυνατό να αποσαφηνιστεί από τη μέχρι στιγμής έρευνα.

Το αρχαίο πόλισμα που βρίσκεται στην τράπεζα της Θέρμης - Σεδών δεν έχει ταυτιστεί από τις έως τώρα ιστορικές και αρχαιολογικές έρευνες. Κάτι ανάλογο συμβαίνει και στους υπόλοιπους αρχαίους οικισμούς εντός του Δήμου Θέρμης, καθώς η ταυτότητά τους παραμένει αβέβαιη. Σύμφωνα με τα γεωγραφικά όρια του βασιλείου της Μακεδονίας, το δυτικό τμήμα του Δήμου Θέρμης, όπου βρίσκεται και η πόλη της Θέρμης - Σεδών, αποτελούσε μέρος της ανατολικής Μυγδονίας. Η αρχαία πόλη που βρίσκεται στη Θέρμη - Σέδες κατά πάσα πιθανότητα δεν σχετίζεται με την αρχαία Θέρμη, η οποία προϋπήρχε της ίδρυσης της Θεσσαλονίκης. Όσον αφορά στην ονομασία που επικράτησε στην ευρύτερη περιοχή του Σέδες, η γένεσή της σχετίζεται μάλλον με τις θερμές πηγές που υπάρχουν ακόμα και σήμερα στις γύρω εκτάσεις και οι οποίες στην αρχαιότητα θα πρέπει να ήταν πολυπληθέστερες. Αυτό επιβεβαιώνεται από επιγραφή των αυτοκρατορικών χρόνων, που βρέθηκε στο Σέδες και καταγράφει οικοδομικές δραστηριότητες σε θερμά. Για πρώτη φορά, η ονομασία «Θέρμη» συναντάται στις αρχαίες πηγές τον 6ο π.Χ. αι. Σε αντίθεση με το δυτικό τμήμα του σημερινού δήμου, το ανατολικό εκτείνεται εντός της κοιλάδας του Ανθεμούντα. Η τελευταία οφείλει την ονομασία της στον ποταμό Ανθεμούντα, του οποίου το όνομα προέρχεται από τη λέξη «ἄνθεμον», δηλαδή «το άνθος του ρόδου», όπως αναφέρει το λεξικό του Σουίδα.