Original scientific paper
ANTIČKO NASLJEĐE LUDBREGA
Branka Vikić - Belančić
Abstract
The antique settlement Ludbreg of today, known from the antique itineraries as a station lovia-Botivo, on the route from Poetovio to Mursa, has recently been recognised as an inportant archaeological site of the Pannonia Superior.
Earlier, occasional finds of the archaeological material, especially in the 19"' century, in the gardens, orchards, cellars, yards and fields, mostly belonged to the Roman period, but the exact location and character of the antique settlement was unknown.
The observations of this area have shown the existence of a rectangular street network in the southern nucleus of Ludbreg, which was probably the reminescent of a Roman camp or city. Therefore that part of Ludbreg was selected in planning the future excavations and researche. This area is bounded by the church and the parish hall, the southern part of the Square of the Victim of Fascism, Preradović street, the bend of the river Bednja to the bridge,
A. Blažić street, Kalnik street and VI. Nazor street, up to the parish hall. Systematical excavations and research which were carried out at Ludbreg, betfrom 1968-1979 by the experts of the Antique Department of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, discovered that the antique settlement loviaBotivo was very densely inhabited and fortified with walls on four sides. Its development lasted from the T'C to the end of the 4"^ C.
The distribution of research soundings was planne on 45 places.
The stratigraphic situation was the following:
The Early Imperial Stratum (T' to mid 2"'' century) lied at a depth of 1,60 m to 2,40 m; the Middle Imperial Stratum (sec. half of 2"'' century to 3"' century at a depth of 1,20-1,60 m and the Late Imperial Stratum 0,40-1,20 m.
Analysing the disposition of urban areas, one could conclude, that official buildings were concentrated in the centre and near the nothern town-wall, the residential archtecture (remaines of insulae) were on both sides of the A. Blažić street and towards the southern and south-western town-wall, while in the last two centuries (Late-Imperial Period) than Roman Town spreaded northwards outside the nothern town-wall, where a suburb was raised with modest residential and business structures. Near the late Roman suburb were found the remains of the Mediaeval fortification, and on the nort-western
slopes were situated the remaines of prehistoric (Halstadt) dwellings.
Among the most outstanding remains of the official architecture are:
Early-Imperial pool in sounding 2/68 (Preradović street 4), Massive wall with pilaster of one big building which had two building phases perhaps of Horreum (in sounding 3/68 and 5/68), Termal complex with three pools of which one was adapted in porticus in the early Christian period (garden of Z. Somodži/Preradović street 24.)In several soundings fragments of the Roman fortification system of lovia, which was built at the end of the T' C. and in the 2"'' C. and lasted till the end of the Roman Empire were found. During that time it was partly rebuilt, renovated and adapted. It seems that the area bounded with there were town-walls was about 170m x 200m, and that in some places there were two streches of town-walls (on the northern and the east side).
Large amount of the archaeological material, especially pottery, give us more precise data of the chronology of architecture and fortification system, as well as the cultural development, economic standard and commercial links, not only with other parts of Pannonia, but also with forther provinces of the Roman Empire (Italy, Galia, Germany, Noricum, North Africa etc.).
As a conclusion, the author synthesises the results of the research, and tries to present the development of lovia-Botivo from the 1" century until the destruction during the time of the Barbarian invasion (in the 5'" C).
It seems that the Roman Ludbreg was primarily civiHan, urbanised settlement which was fortified with town-walls because of its exposed position on the main Drava road, near Drava Limes.
The discovery of two monuments in Ludbreg in the 19"" C, was very important, because of the incriptions, in which the antique name of Ludbreg -lOVIA- was preserved.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
134581
URI
Publication date:
5.12.1998.
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