Illyrian God of War temple found in Montenegro

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on July 24, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, Montenegro, Southern Europe

Polish archaeologists have discovered a temple dedicated to the Illyrian God of War in what is now Montenegro.

Archaeologists’ theory that the town of Rhizon hypothesised that Rhizon had once contained a shrine to Medaurus, a protective god worshipped by the Illyrians has been confirmed [Credit: M. Lemke/UW]

It was found by a team from the University of Warsaw’s Centre for Research on the Antiquity of South-eastern Europe, which has excavation sites in several locations along the Adriatic Coast and near the Black Sea, including on the Danube Delta.

From its base in the town of Risan in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro, the team became interested in the nearby settlement of Rhizon, which was first mentioned in the 4th Century BC.

From its base in the town of Risan in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro, the team became interested in the nearby settlement of Rhizon overlooking the Bay, which was first mentioned in the 4th Century BC [Credit: M. Lemke/UW]

Rhizon was originally Illyrian, a reference to the tribes who occupied the western part of the Balkan Peninsula in classical antiquity. Later, it became a Roman city.

Working there last summer, the archaeologists hypothesised that Rhizon had once contained a shrine – perhaps to Medaurus, a protective god worshipped by the Illyrians.

The archaeologists found an inscription mentioning a man named Aristokles who was described as the treasurer of the temple of Medaurus [Credit: P. Dyczek/UW]

Their theory was confirmed this year, when they dug up the first completely preserved Greek inscription in Risan.

“It mentions a man named Aristokles who was described as the treasurer of the temple of Medaurus,” said Professor Piotr Dyczek of the Centre for Research on the Antiquity of Southeastern Europe. The man was also the head of the local police, he added.

Grave stela with Greek inscription [Credit: WikiCommons]

Interestingly, the names on the inscription were all Greek, rather than Illyrian. Dyczek notes that the Greek terms used to describe their roles suggest that at some point Rhizon had the status of a polis, the Greek word for city.

“This type of local police was always associated with this form of organising settlements,” he explained.

Mosaic depicting the god Hypnos coming from a Roman villa located in Risan in Montenegro [Credit: Janusz Reclaw]

According to the archaeologists, the temple operated from the start of the 3rd Century BC, perhaps until the 4th Century AD.

“Since other temples devoted to Illyrian deities have not yet been discovered, the discovery has a unique character and proves that at least some of them were built according to classical designs,” Dyczek highlighted.

Author: Anne Chatham | Source: The First News [July 24, 2019]

Illyrian temples found at ancient Doclea in Montenegro

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on December 08, 2018 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Europe, Montenegro, Southern Europe

The Center for Archaeology of Montenegro began a series of rescue excavations in the ancient city of Doclea near Podgorica, one of the most important historical monuments in Montenegro, after an ancient villa was destroyed during the construction of a railway line.

Credit: Balkan Heritage Field School

During the course of the excavations the foundations of several temples were found, evidently belonging to the Illyrian Docleati tribe on which territory the city was built.

According to the archaeologists, coins found at the site date it to the reign of the Illyrian King Ballaios and Queen Teuta of the Ardiaei tribe who ruled in the mid-second century BC.

Credit: Balkan Heritage Field School

"This area has an obvious antiquity where various ancient cultures are intertwined," said Milos Zivanovich, an archaeologist from the Center for Archaeology, who is heading the rescue excavation.

"The purpose of these excavations is to fully reveal the layout of the city and to understand how it evolved through time," Zivanovich added.

Credit: Balkan Heritage Field School

In Roman times the city of Doclea was strategically situated near the crossings of several main roads on a plateau bordered on three sides by the Zeta, Moraca and Siralija Rivers.

The foundation of the city is related to the Roman effort to urbanize the newly established province of Dalmatia in the beginning of the first century AD. It quickly became an important trading center and was given the status of municipium during the Flavian Age along with other Dalmatian cities.

Credit: Balkan Heritage Field School

The Romans enforced the city’s protection through mighty 2.5 m - thick walls, towers, battlements and fortified bridges across the rivers. The city itself is built according to the classical urban grid plan, with a typically square-shaped forum with a colonnaded porticoes that run the length of the space at its heart.

The East-West Via Principalis features the most important city buildings which are still preserved today: the triumphal arch dedicated to Emperor Gallienus, the temple & the statue of Roma, the temple of Diana, a palace, as well as the spacious and richly decorated city baths.

Credit: Balkan Heritage Field School

The city flourished as a capital city of the Late Roman province of Praevalitana (3rd - 5th centuries AD). The Early Christians churches and the large episcopal basilica dated to this period are located in the eastern urban and suburban areas both intra and extra murum.

The bishop of Doclea, Evandros is mentioned among the participants of the 4th Ecumenical Council held in Halkidon 451.

Credit: Balkan Heritage Field School

The city’s urban life declined after the Ostrogoths sacked Doclea in AD 490. It was devastated further during the earthquake of AD 518.

Doclea never recovered its glory and during the following turbulent period of Avar and Slavic invasions, the city was finally abandoned.

Source: Tirana Times & The Balkan Heritage Field School [December 08, 2018]