Projects / Programmes
Colonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovio - genesis and evolution of town
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.02.00 |
Humanities |
Archaeology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H340 |
Humanities |
Archaeology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.01 |
Humanities |
History and Archaeology |
Poetovio, Roman town, urbanism, architecture, chronology, defence walls, domus, baths, sanctuary, early Christian church, network of towns
Researchers (7)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Colonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovio (today's Ptuj) was one of the most important Roman towns in the central Danube region. Its significance was derived from its traffic position at the crossing over the River Drava and at the so called Amber route. The Romans established a legionary camp here in the 1st century AD. The civil settlement was awarded colonial rights between the years 98 and 102 AD.
A number of archaeological research studies were carried out in the area of Poetovio from the end of the 19th century onward. They were especially amplified at the end of the 20th century due to extensive construction works. The rescue excavations were influenced by the growth of the modern town and did not solve fundamental archaeological issues. Thus, it is impossible to reconstruct the urban system of Poetovio. The most poorly known is the centre of Poetovio, which lay by the bridge on the left bank of the River Drava, in Vičava and Panorama. A forum with administrative buildings, main sanctuaries and other public buildings should be expected here, as well as residential buildings of the town elite. While Vičava has been almost built up in the last few decades, Panorama Hill represents the last large undestroyed area.
The Municipality of Ptuj commissioned extensive archaeological geophysical research on Panorama Hill in 2015. The results revealed the urban network with streets and rectangular building plots. It seems that the construction of this area was uniformly planned, probably at the time of the town foundation at the beginning of the 2nd century. However, only detailed archaeological research will be able to clarify the chronology and function of buildings as well as the construction phases. Archaeological remains on Panorama Hill represent an excellent potential for solving a number of fundamental questions.
The main goal of the project is obtaining data on the formation of the city, its significance in the region and its end in the Late Antiquity. In this way, it will be possible to understand better the position of Poetovio in the hierarchy of the Roman towns of the central Danube region and in the wider historical context. Three sets of objectives (1–3) were formed within the project.
In the Panorama objective, the chronology, phases and structure of the Roman settlement on Panorama will be studied with rational field research. Therefore, additional geophysical surveys and trial trenches will be carried out. The priority topics will be addressed: Urban Structure, Foundation of the Town, Role of the Army and the Defense of the Town, Sanctuaries, Early Christian Church, End of the Town, Everyday Life.
Within the second objective, the development of Poetovio on the left bank of the River Drava will be studied and the roles and functions of individual town districts. The study will be based on the corpus of archaeological sites and on the field work on Panorama.
Within the objective The Role of Poetovio in the Urban Network, the new insights into the development of Poetovio will be included in a historical context. The research of the town hierarchy and of the Roman settlement network in both Pannoniae and Noricum will have a wider meaning for understanding the functioning of the empire.
In order to raise the quality of life in the town, while at the same time complementing the tourist offer, the Municipality of Ptuj is establishing an archaeological park on Panorama Hill. The results of the proposed project will represent the scientific basis for the creation of the park. In this way, they will be transferred very quickly to the general public. The results will provide a multifaceted insight into the meaning, functions and specificities of Poetovio. For these reasons, the Municipality of Ptuj will also co-finance the proposed project.
Significance for science
The research of Poetovio, the largest Roman town on the outskirts of the South-Eastern Alps, is one of the priorities of Slovenian archaeology. Like most other Slovenian research priorities, it is not systematically supported. With the proposed project, we want to achieve the continuity of the investigations of Poetovio, which have been more or less intensively carried out at the Institute of Archaeology ZRC SAZU for two decades. At the same time, our purpose is to raise the research of Poetovio to a higher level.
The project is an upgrade of the previous research work, which focused primarily on the evaluation of topographic data (Horvat et al. 2003; Horvat, Dolenc Vičič 2010) and geophysical survey in the Panorama area (Mušič 2015; Horvat, Dolenc Vičič, Mušič 2018).
We will have the opportunity for the first time to explore systematically a larger area in the centre of Poetovio – Panorama. The high quality field data will be acquired via the carefully chosen research questions and methodology (e.g., they will not be dependent on the private building investors preferences). A close link between geophysical and archaeological research will be essential as well as the selection of the best combination of different methods (non-destructive geophysical surveys and archaeological trenches). It will be possible to investigate the chronology, functions and phases of individual buildings in the most rational way, so that we will get better insight into the development of the entire settlement. A great quality leap is expected in the knowledge of the development of Poetovio and especially its centre on Panorama.
In the objective Settlement of Poetovio, we will continue to develop the methodology of connecting, harmonising and evaluating heterogeneous archaeological data in a very problematic environment (modern city above the Roman town) and their concise presentation to the professional public. Although we will specifically devote ourselves to the settlement on the left bank of the River Drava, we will simultaneously explore the settlement image of the whole Roman town. The special features of the site are of our main interest, such as its composition from different primary nuclei, the urban structure, the functions of individual quarters and, last but not least, the strategic position.
The results of the first two project objectives will be the basis for the third objective: The Role of Poetovio in Urban Network. New insights into the development of Poetovio will be included in a historical context. Since the central Danube region was one of the key regions of the Roman state, the research of the town hierarchy and of the Roman settlement network in both Pannoniae and Noricum have a wider meaning for understanding the functioning of the empire.
Significance for the country
Impact on the economy
The results of the project will directly affect the decisions of the Municipality of Ptuj. Cultural tourism is estimated to be the fastest growing industry in Europe, which is being developed with the help of towns with rich cultural heritage. Ptuj, with its rich material and non-material heritage, has great potential to develop cultural tourism into an important industry. Ptuj is already attracting tourists with its rich medieval heritage; however, its Roman past is pushed into the background. In order to raise the quality of life in the town, while at the same time complementing the tourist offer, the municipality is establishing an archaeological park on Panorama; the archaeological trails around the town are planned as well as the preparation of a new permanent Roman exhibition at the Provincial Museum Ptuj-Ormož. The future archaeological park of Panorama has great potential as a possible supraregional cultural and tourist destination. It can be developed into an attractive cultural and tourist product.
In 2015, the municipality funded the geophysical survey, which is the starting point of our project. The results of the proposed project will represent the scientific basis for the creation of the Panorama archaeological park. In this way, they will be transferred very quickly to the general public. For these reasons, the Municipality of Ptuj will also co-finance the proposed project - and this is something exceptional in Slovenia.
Impact on the society – education
Poetovio was one of the three largest Roman towns in the central Danubian region and an important administrative, commercial, and production centre of the Roman state. The main objective of the project is directed specifically to the area of Panorama, which is the best preserved large part of any Roman town on the Slovenian territory. The results of the project will provide a multifaceted insight into the meaning, functions and specificities of Poetovio. It will be possible to present new information in the following topics to interested general public and young people at all levels of education:
1. The way of life in the Roman town and the organisation of society.
2. The level of technical culture (architecture, building techniques, heating, water supply, baths, defence structures).
3. Spiritual life (sanctuaries, early Christian church).
4. Functions of the town (administration, production, trade).
5. Historical development from the 1st to the 5th centuries.
6. Particularities in which Poetovio differs from other towns in the Roman Empire:
o important administrative functions (Illyrian customs),
o defence (in the early and late Roman era),
o local and regional distinctives (worship of the Nutrices, Jupiter Depulsor and cult of the Danube horsemen).
Most important scientific results
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report
