The Roman Tomb of Silistra ( bg, Римска гробница в Силистра, ''Rimska grobnitsa v Silistra'') is an Ancient Roman burial tomb in the town of Silistra in northeastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...

. Dating to the mid-4th century AD, the Roman Tomb is the best-preserved architectural monument of the

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

city of Durostorum. The tomb is considered "one of the most investigated and most discussed monuments of the late antique art in Bulgaria" and the Balkans,Atanasov, p. 447. owing in large part to the quality and extent of its interior frescoes.

History

Though the influence of Christianity had reached Silistra by the time, the Roman Tomb is clearly an example of pagan art commissioned by a pagan owner. Thus, it is considered likely that it predates Theodosius I's persecution of

Roman paganism Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

. Its construction also likely preceded the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

invasion of Durostorum of 376–378, which caused great turmoil in the city. The invasion may have caused the master's family depicted in the tomb to flee the city, explaining the lack of burials in the tomb. In any case, the tomb must be stylistically ascribed to the 4th century and specifically to Theodosius I's reign. The Roman Tomb was coincidentally discovered in 1942 in the southern outskirts of Silistra, a major town in Southern Dobruja on the banks of the Lower Danube. Silistra had only recently been transferred by Romania back to Bulgaria as part of the 1940

Treaty of Craiova The Treaty of Craiova ( bg, Крайовска спогодба, Krayovska spogodba; ro, Tratatul de la Craiova) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its te ...

. Since 1984, the Roman Tomb of Silistra has been on UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites.

Architecture and frescoes

The stone tomb features a single burial chamber and measures . It has a west-east orientation, with the entrance on the east wall and a semi-cylindrical brick vault.Atanasov, p. 448. It is located amidst the ruins of a necropolis from Late Antiquity which included other similar structures. Ceramic plates, rectangular in shape and painted using the

fresco-secco Fresco-secco (or a secco or fresco finto) is a wall painting technique where pigments mixed with an organic binder and/or lime are applied onto a dry plaster. The paints used can e.g. be casein paint, tempera, oil paint, silicate mineral paint. ...

technique, cover the entirety of its floor. In contrast to most other known Roman tombs from the period in the Balkans, the entire interior is covered by multi-coloured mural paintings. The northern, southern and eastern walls feature a procession of

servants A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

, whereas the frescoes of the western wall, directly opposite the entrances, depict the master and his wife.Atanasov, p. 449. A

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

running along the walls of the tomb contains 11 panels featuring the portraits of male and female slaves bringing various gifts and garments to the masters. The procession runs from either side of the central panel that portrays the masters, providing for a symmetrical composition. The tomb's decoration also includes hunting scenes, candlesticks, plants and animals, including peacocks and

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s. Overall, the decoration's remarkable level of preservation and the quality of the mural paintings makes the tomb a "unique example of art and life" in the outer regions of the Roman Empire during the turbulent 4th century. The Roman Tomb of Silistra is situated at the intersection of the Sedmi Septemvri and Boyka Voyvoda Streets in the town. As of 2016, it can only be toured after a prior reservation at the Regional Historical Museum of Silistra.

References

* {{Silistra Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Bulgaria Archaeological sites in Bulgaria History of Silistra Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century Death in ancient Rome Silistra Tourist attractions in Silistra Province Late Roman Empire art Roman Empire paintings World Heritage Tentative List