Rome · Roman Imperial period · Novae, near Svishtov, Veliko Tarnovo Province, Bulgaria
Possible Roman legion commander's residence with private baths found in Bulgaria
At the fortress of Novae on the Danube, a large building with baths, painted plaster, sculptures and two inscribed altars may have housed the legate.
Novae, near Svishtov, Bulgaria Archaeologists have found a large building at Novae, a Roman legionary fortress in northern Bulgaria, that may have been the praetorium. A praetorium was the residence of the legion's commander. The building covered more than 4,500 square feet (about 420 square metres).
It contained baths, painted plaster, colourful and elaborate floors, sculptures and two inscribed altars. The find was reported by Science in Poland and by Archaeology Magazine. Piotr Dyczek of the University of Warsaw described the results.
Novae stood on the Danube, close to the modern town of Svishtov. The river was the northern frontier of the Roman province of Moesia, and Novae was one of the legionary bases that guarded it. From the late 1st century AD it was the base of the legion I Italica.
Private baths point to the commander
The baths are one reason Dyczek thinks the building was the commander's home. Ordinary soldiers in a fortress washed in shared bathhouses. A private bath suite was a privilege of rank.
“Few people had private baths in Roman fortresses. There were communal baths for the entire legion. In principle, only the legate could have his own large bathhouse.”
Piotr Dyczek, University of Warsaw
The legate was the officer in command of a legion. Dyczek is careful to say the identification is not yet certain. He also points to the quality of the objects found inside the building.
“Although this will have to be confirmed, everything points to a residence, especially since the furnishings were luxurious. We found fragments of bronze furniture, various figurines, and precious ceramics.”
Piotr Dyczek, University of Warsaw
Gods and an emperor in marble
One of the figurines shows the god Priapus. Dyczek said it suggests that people in the legion had contact with the Middle East. Archaeology Magazine describes Priapus as an Egyptian god. In Greek and Roman tradition he was a fertility god whose cult began at Lampsacus, in what is now Turkey.
A marble head of the god Mithras was also found at the site. His mystery cult was popular among Roman soldiers, and shrines to him are known from many frontier bases.
Other finds include a fragment of a marble portrait of an emperor and an architectural element carved in the shape of a pinecone. The reports do not say which emperor the portrait shows.
What is still unknown
The reports do not give a date for the building. They do not say what the two inscribed altars record or to whom they were dedicated.
For now the building is a possible praetorium. Dyczek says the interpretation will have to be confirmed.
Sources (1)
- Possible Praetorium Found at Roman Fortress in Bulgaria (Archaeology Magazine)
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