Colloquium: PRINT Capidava, the Northern Frontier and the Archaeology of the Annona Militaris Within the Quaestura Iustiniana Exercitus - and - New Directions in the Archaeological Research in Istros / Histria

Capidava, the Northern Frontier and the Archaeology of the Annona Militaris Within the Quaestura Iustiniana Exercitus

 The creation, in 536, of the administrative unit quaestura exercitus, with its centre in Odessos (present-day Varna), brought together the province of Scythia and neighbouring Moesia Secunda along the Northern frontier, the Aegean Islands (Cyclades), Caria and Cyprus. The only direct links between all these provinces were the sea and the navigable Danube. The fundamental institutional raison d'être of this strange administrative association was that of ensuring the financial stability and continuous food supply to the troops stationed on the Danubian border. The main assignment was to steer the substantial stocks of wine, olive oil and corn from southern Greece, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean to the congested garrisons in the forts along the Danube frontier and the northern Balkans. Intensive archaeological investigations in Capidava (Constanța county, Romania) revealed during the last decades significant quantities of Romano-Byzantine containers precisely designed for transporting the strategic commodities from the Cyclades, Caria, and Cyprus. My topic presented the distribution of the amphorae in the province of Scythia during the 6th c., as far as it is available for the current state of research. We shall retrace the routes through which the annona collected in the overseas provinces of this quaestura was subsequently distributed to the troops stationed in the Danubian border provinces. A review of the available amphora types and statistics for the best investigated fortifications starting from Singidunum (nowadays Belgrade) and Viminacium (Kostolac) to Halmyris (Murighiol, in Danube`s Delta) is inherent to an in-depth analysis of chronology and scale, features and geography of the big canvas.

About the speaker: Ioan C. Opris studied History and Archaeology at the Faculty of History – University of Bucharest (graduated in 1992), Ph.D. in Late Roman/ Early Byzantine History and Archaeology (2000). Member of the Romanian Institute of Thracology in Bucharest (1992-1999); Assistant, Lecturer, Associate Professor (since 2004) and Vice-Dean (since 2012) in the Faculty of History (Dept. of Ancient History, Archaeology and History of Art). Director of the archaeological excavations at Capidava, Constanța County, Romania (since 2004); member of the National Commission for Historical Monuments (2013-2018). Member and vice president of the National Archaeological Commission (since 2008/ 2012 - 2016), president of the National Archaeological Commission (2018). Teaching and research activities oriented toward Roman and Early Byzantine history and archaeology. Scientific interests in the Lower Danube Roman border provinces, urban evolution in Moesia Inferior (1st – 7th c.), epigraphy and ceramic studies, as well as the economy of the Roman world, cultural history/ historical anthropology and religious studies, with special regard to the phenomena associated with the evolution from Paganism to Christianity in the Late Roman Empire. Studies and articles, archaeological reports, research contracts and grants, volumes, conferences and lectures in Romania and abroad (France, Italy, Austria and Germany, Bulgaria etc.). Fellowships and research stages at Institut für Klassische Archäologie - Universität Wien, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI) – Abteilung Istanbul and Eurasien Abteilung-Berlin; postdoctoral scholarship at the Institut d’Histoire du Christianisme - Université « Jean Moulin » Lyon 3; alumnus of New Europe College - Institute of Advanced Study in Bucharest.

New Directions in the Archaeological Research in Istros / Histria

In Istros/Histria, the archaeological team from the University of Bucharest has two research directions. Our main efforts focus on the excavation in the southern part of the acropolis, which aims to investigate the urban development in this part of the city during the site’s 1300 years of history. At present we are excavating the Late Roman (6th c. AD) residential district, which has already revealed interesting aspects concerning the changes that occurred in the urban fabric when Christianity became the only accepted religion. The second direction concerns the identification of the city’s harbour, a project where we are collaborating with the team from Aix-Marseille Université, led by Prof. Chr. Morhange. In order to identify and study this most important complex, we are using an interdisciplinary approach that combines bio-sedimentological and geophysical analyses with the classical archaeological investigation.

About the speaker: Studied History and Archaeology at the Faculty of History – University of Bucharest (graduated in 2002), Ph.D. in Early Late Roman History and Archaeology (2009). Lecturer and Associate professor (2015) in the Faculty of History (Dept. of Ancient History, Archaeology and History of Art). Secretary of the Romanian Archaeological Institute in Athens. Scientific coordinator of a sector on the archaeological site Histria, Constanța County, Romania (since 2013); member of the Regional Commission for Historical Monuments (Bucharest, Ilfov and Giurgiu Counties) in 2014-2016; member in the National Archaeological Committee (since 2018). Teaching and research activities oriented toward Greek and Roman history and archaeology. Scientific interests in the Lower Danube Roman border provinces, urban evolution in Northern Thrace/the territory occupied by the province Moesia Inferior/Scythia Minor (7th c. BC – 7th c. AD), epigraphy, as well as social, cultural and religious life in the Roman world. Studies and articles, archaeological reports, research contracts and grants, volumes, conferences and lectures in Romania and abroad (Germany, Italy, UK, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey etc.). Fellowships and research stages at Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI) – Kommission für Alte Geschichte und Epigraphik München, École Française d’Athènes and University of Copenhagen.