Mediana (tráfico)
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Mediana is an important archeological site from the late
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
period, located in the eastern suburb of the
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
n city of
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
. It represents a luxurious residence with a highly organised economy. Excavations have revealed a
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
with
peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...
,
thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
,
granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...
and
water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
. The residence dates to the reign of
Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
306 to 337. Although Roman artifacts can be found scattered all over the area of present-day
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
, Mediana represents the best-preserved part of Roman Naissus. In 1979, Mediana was added to the Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance list, protected by the
Republic of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
.


History

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
(280–337) was born and raised in Naissus. In one of the city's luxurious suburbs he erected a majestic residence, 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 Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...
and
Constans Flavius Julius Constans ( 323 – 350), also called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of '' caesar'' from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great. After his father's death, he was made ''a ...
, stayed in Naissus in the winter of 340, signing an edict there. Later on, Constans used it as a temporary residence. According to the Hieronimus' Chronicles, after
Vetranio Vetranio (died ) was briefly an imperial usurper and emperor in the Roman Empire in 350, during which time he controlled Illyricum between the rival emperors Magnus Magnentius and Constantius II, eventually capitulating to the latter. Life ...
, commander of the Danubian army, had been proclaimed emperor in
Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians ...
, he surrendered the insignia of imperial power to Constantius II in Naissus, doubtless at the imperial villa, in 350.
Julian the Apostate Julian (; ; 331 – 26 June 363) was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism ...
unexpectedly spent some time in Naissus on his expedition against Constantius II, at the end of 361. During his two-month stay, Julian wrote long epistles to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and to
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
,
Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...
and other Greek towns, explaining his policy and seeking support. In 364 AD, the brother emperors
Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...
and
Valens Valens (; ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...
went to the villa to arrange the division of the imperial territories between them. Valentinian's presence there is attested by several imperial edicts. According to
Olympiodorus of Thebes Olympiodorus of Thebes (; born c. 380, fl. c. 412–425 AD) was a Roman historian, poet, philosopher and diplomat of the early fifth century. He produced a ''History'' in twenty-two volumes, written in Greek, dedicated to the Emperor Theodosius II, ...
, Naissus was the native town of another Roman emperor –
Constantius III Constantius III (died 2 September 421) was briefly Western Roman emperor in 421, having earned the throne through his capability as a general under Honorius. By 411 he had achieved the rank of ''magister militum'', and in the same year he su ...
, husband of
Galla Placidia Galla Placidia (392/3 – 27 November 450), daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was the mother and a tutor and advisor to emperor Valentinian III. She was queen consort to Ataulf, King of the Visigoths from 414 until his death in 415, ...
and father of
Valentinian III Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...
. 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 Nišava Valley, near a thermal water source. There was a street in the east-west direction which passed on the south side of the
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
with
peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...
and the
granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...
located 150 metres from it. From this street it was possible to approach these buildings. The central area was occupied by the villa with its open peristyle,
nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
and
thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
; to the west of the villa was the granary, and somewhat to the north a spacious building with octagonal and circular rooms. To the south of the villa are the remains of several villas and functional service structures. What strikes the eye is that the luxurious buildings of solid material with
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
s, decorated with marble facing,
mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
and
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es, are concentrated mainly around the central villa and its peristyle, while the economic buildings are located to the west of the granary towards Naissus.


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 In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
on the west side and a smaller
nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
on the east side. The longitudinal axis of the villa is in the north-south direction. The whole northern part was heated. The villa was luxuriously decorated, to which testify the marble columns, bases and capitals of different sizes,
reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
on
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
capitals and
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
slabs, the remains of wall covering of expensive, multicoloured marble,
frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
, etc. The mosaic floors that covered the whole of the peristyle porch (450 m²) and the audience room have been well preserved. The porch mosaics are geometrical. Figural mosaics are at the entrance of the audience room. The middle part of the audience hall is covered with a broad rectangular field with a geometric pattern, done in the manner of the finest artist. The central part of this structure is a hexagon (3,2 m on the side) with a fountain in the middle, also in the form of hexagon. The lead pipe, used to supply water, can be seen in the middle of the
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...
. Smaller spaces surround the hexagon; one of their sides is the polygon of the hexagon. The floor of the
nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
is covered with mosaic. The wide outer frame of the hexagon is covered with alternating stylized lotus flowers, and is underlined on the inner side, by a triple border. The lateral spaces about the hexagon are also decorated by mosaic.


Thermae

Thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
are situated northwest of the villa and were probably connected to it. The entrance to the bath is from the south side. The thermae of Mediana were probably used by the owners of the villa, who could reach them directly from their rooms. The corridor on the way to the baths is decorated by floor mosaics, with geometric patterns of the same quality as the mosaics in the peristyle. The vestibule and
apodyterium In ancient Rome, the ''apodyterium'' (from , "undressing room") was the primary entry in the public baths, composed of a large changing room with cubicles or shelves where citizens could store clothing and other belongings while bathing.PBS https: ...
are covered by brick and the middle room is partly covered with brick and partly with mosaic made here of larger white marble tesserae.


Granary

The granary (''
horreum A ''horreum'' (plural: ''horrea'') was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries. By the end of the imperial period, the city of Rome had nearly 300 ''horrea'' to s ...
'') 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 Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...
and
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
).


Water tower

A
water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
(''castellum aquae'') was ordinarily found at the end of each
Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...
. Water was supplied from this reservoir to the wells and
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...
s,
basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...
,
thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...
and maybe the
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
canals. Its longitudinal axis is oriented north-south. There is a 10-meter height differential between the water tower site and the valley in which the Mediana buildings are located, providing a head for the fountains.


Churches

Two Early Christian churches have been excavated, both built simultaneously sometime after 378. The first church was unearthed in 2000, when a
Chi Rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi (letter), chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek (Romanization of ...
monogram 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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
community. As of July 2019 the site was closed for visitors for the sake of construction work, without a re-opening date indicated.


Genetics

examined two males buried at Mediana between the late 4th and early 5th centuries. These individuals had artificially deformed skulls characteristic of
Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...
, and are presumed to have belonged to the Gothic cultural circle. Genetic analysis suggested that these individuals were mostly of
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
an ancestry, with slight Iron Age steppe admixture, which is compatible with Germanic peoples. One male carried the paternal haplogroup I1a2a1a1a/I-Z141 and the maternal haplogroup H5b, while the other carried the maternal haplogroup H41a. Haplogroup I1 is characteristic of Northern Europe and has not been found in the Balkans earlier, suggesting gene flow from the north.. "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."


See also

* Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance


References


Sources

*


External links


О МЕДИЈАНИ
on Mediana, including building floorplans. {{commons category, Mediana Moesia Moesia Superior Roman towns and cities in Serbia Buildings and structures in Niš Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance