Viminаcium

An archaeological site near Old Kоstоlac, some kilometres from Pоžаrеvac. There was a Roman military camp and a town built at the beginning of the 1stmillennium A.D. Its history lasted for about 600 years. For a time it was a seat of the Roman Upper Moesia province, covering the best part of Serbia, parts of Bulgaria and Macedonia. The town of Viminаcium had the population of tens of thousands, including the camp, where even 6,000 Roman soldiers were camped. In the 4th century it was the seat of a Christian bishop. It was destroyed by the Huns, but restored by Emperor Justinian – as a border military fortification. When the Slavs came, it ceased to exist.

ART

There was a mausoleum in Viminаcium, presumably built by a son of emperor Decius in the 3rdcentury. Pagan frescoes, as well as the early Christian ones were discovered in many tombs – with symbols of the Celestial Rider and the Christ’s monogram.

HISTORY

Today, on that spot, there is a small place of Kоstоlаc. It is the centre of the Stig region, one of the significant coal mines in Serbia. In the WWII, an electric power plant was built there. More serious investigations conducted in the late 1970’s, discovered some important archaeological material – o the remains of a complete urban infrastructure, as it was used in the major cities of Ancient Rome.