Our article refers to a special discovery made at Noviodunum, the headquarters of the Danube fleet Classis Flavia Moesica. It is about an oinophora type vessel, shaped as a ram, which was discovered, by chance, in a cremation grave. Its presence in the necropolis of the city must not come as a surprise to us, because such discoveries come, once again, to show its commercial and economic importance in the province. The Noviodunum market represented a luxury goods consumer from all the provinces of the empire. Regarding the chronological framing of the vessel we support the opinion that it might come from the second half of the 2nd century p.Chr.
Moesia Inferior
Swastika-shaped fibulae with horse-head decorations (Almgren 232) from the Roman period in Dobrudja (Moesia Inferior)
Discovered in a large number in the Balkan-Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire, the swastika-shaped fibulae with horse-head decorations are in most cases attributed to the military. The iconographic motive and form are the artistic expression of Thracian traditions specific in the Lower Danube regions. The precursors of this type of brooches are the silver brackets found in Thracians princely graves discovered in Romania and Bulgaria dated in the 4th century BC. Chronologically framed in the 2nd–4th centuries AD, the roman fibulae are discovered mainly in military environments. On the territory of Dobroudja (Moesia Inferior), four brooches of this type are known, one at Ulmetum and three in the civil settlement near the camp of Durostum, at Ostrov-Ferma 4.
Roman pottery in the countryside of Dobruja. Topolog as case study
This paper presents a pottery assemblage discovered at Topolog (Tulcea County) in 2010, at approximatively 500 m northwest of the village, in two refused pits severely affected by the extraction of clay by the locals. In the same area a rectangular kiln for the production of bricks and tiles was investigated. The pottery assemblage consists of transport amphorae for wine and salt fish (Shelov C and Zeest 84/85), fine ware (Pontic sigillata), drinking and cooking ware, and a number of hand-made pottery of La Tène tradition. These forms date back to the 2nd century AD and reflect the trade relations of a rural community from the periphery of the Empire with the north and south-eastern Pontic regions.
La population dans les villages situés entre Sacidava et Axiopolis
The author presents the epigraphic record of the countryside in the region Sacidava–Axiopolis (Lower Moesia). The population is not attested as living in organized structure like uici. However, the presence of military forces indicates a civilian population living in the proximity of military camps. The mention of Thracians recruited in the Roman army demonstrates that there was an indigenous organization before the Roman conquest. The veterans are also installed in the region, like Roman citizens inhabitants of Durostorum and Tomis, who had bought rural properties. Axiopolis was a harbour, and the existence of an association of nautae implies a quite cosmopolite population in the rural milieu of this town.
A note on the nomenclature of the Thracian veterans
The author analyses the importance of the tribe in nomenclature of Thracian veterans. Despite its introduction probably in pre-provincial time, when part of the provincial elite gained Roman citizenship and therefore Roman names, a practice which continued decades after the establishment of the new province, it seems that the Roman tribe system remained unpopular and uncommon in Thrace and more or less isolated. The Roman tribe was used rarely and when used it was either in the nomenclature of the Thracian elite or of non-Thracian veterans settled in Thrace. The inscriptions also reveal that this practice was characteristic for a certain span of time, probably till the time of Hadrian.
Contribution sur le macellum d’Histria
L’existence du macellum à Histria fait la preuve sur la situation économique stable de la ville pendant toute l’époque romaine et sur la capacité de récupération de la communauté urbaine après les invasions de 238. Notre contribution est axée sur les caractéristiques de cet édifice et sur la reconstruction de macellum (par dons) afin de proposer une nouvelle hypothèse concernant l’emplacement de ce bâtiment à Histria.
La mortalité des légionnaires en Mésie Inférieure
The author tries to answer some questions regarding the demography of the legions’ soldiers in the Roman province Moesia Inferior: how reliable are the epigraphic sources? How high is the mortality rate among the legions’ soldiers? Can we speak about a pattern for recruitment age? Which are the mortality’s causes?
L’origine des légionnaires de Mésie Inférieure. La Ve légion Macedonica à Troesmis
In the last decades the growing number of studies on the origin of Roman soldiers revealed new information concerning the mobility of the legions, the recruitment policy in the Roman Empire and also the role played by soldiers and veterans in the provincial society. The discovery of new sources changed the perception over the Roman army, its mobility and adaptability. In this context, this study analyzes the inscriptions of the Legio V Macedonica discovered at Troesmis in which the origin of the soldiers is clearly stated. The aims of this paper are to identify the legionaries’ origin and to highlight the main aspects of a possible recruitment pattern specific to Moesia Inferior.
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