Archeological site : Skupi - Skopje
Scupi, town from late ancient and roman period is located in north-western part of Skopje near Zajcev Rid, the village Zlokukani and the river Lepenec.
The establishment of Scupi is connected with the roman entering in Dardania at the end of the first century BC. Most probably is that Scupi was founded as war camp. As the time goes the war camp became a town with a status of colony. The establishment of Colony Flavia Scupi made the king Dominian (84-85 year). The citizens lived all over Skopsko Pole, for which there are epigraphic confirms.
The Romans located the town by important magistral roads that connected the Aegean Sea with central Europe, Thrace with the Adriatic coast. The town of Scupi has wonderful geographical position. In the year of 286-296 , the powerful Gothic and Herullian forces crossed this area. By forming the province of Dardania at the end of 3th century Scupi becomes seat of province authority. In the year 379-388 in Scupi stayed the king Teodosij.
In this period Scupi became an episcopacy seat. In the end of the 4th century is noted a big war formation. In the year of 447 Scupi suffered from the war routes of the Hunies. And in year of 518 there was the biggest disaster, and earthquake. After this earthquake Scupi became a rural place for living. The urban style of living was gone.
With archeological researches has been started in the period of before the world war and more intensive in 1966. It has been discovered that on 40 hectares land by walls with size 738x590 meters is located Scupi. Today there are still archeological researches here.
Theater: Lies on the south western part of Zajcev Rid. It has a scene long 98 meters and dimensions 98x15. Belongs of the Roman type of theatres and dates from the second century in the time of Hadrian. Researches made in 1928, 1935-1937, 1959-1960.
Civil Basilica: is located in the southern part of Scupi. It is with mosaic with geometric forms and ornaments. It is dating from the early 4th century. Researches made in 1975-1979.
Christian Basilica: located southwestern from the theatre. It has apsida on the eastern side and bapsterium on the western side. Dating from the end of the 5th and beginning of 6th century. Researches made in 1975-1979.
Street: one of the most important communications in the town with orientation northeast-southwest, as all complexes in Scupi. It has size of 8,50 meters and made of big stone blocks. Dating after 286 year. Researches made in 1976 and again in 1980-1989.
Necropolis: located outside the town.
Western Necropolis: located by the west part of the town. It is necropolis from different periods. Roman and younger unknown period. Researches made in 1990-1994.
Eastern Necropolis: founded around 300 graves from Roman and late ancient time. Researches made in 1970-1971 and in 1973.
Although Skopje was settled as early as the pre-historic times, the first urban settlements in the Skopje area are from around the 4th century BC. Its citizens were a mixture of local residents of Paeonian and Dardanian origin. In Roman times the city of Scupi developed as an early Roman legionary camp on the western slope of Zlokukansko Kale, near Skopje. It is assumed that it was the base of the 5th Macedonian and 4th Scythian legions. Colonists settled during the second half of the 1st century A.D., mainly ex-servicemen or veterans, as well as immigrants from the neighbouring city of Stobi, and even Asia Minor, Aegea, and Thrace.
During the 2nd century Scupi acquired a particularly prestigious character, and a central place in it was occupied by its monumental theatre. Its troubles, however, began during the 3rd century. Taking advantage of the struggle for the imperial throne, first the Sarmatians and then the Goths and Heruls penetrated into Macedonia. The 4th century was characterized by an increase in building activity in the city. This was the time when its most impressive building - the Basilica I - was erected.
This was a public building, a court-house, in the southern part of the city. In the 4th century A.D., it served for a while as the capital of the Emperor Theodosius. Towards the end of that century or the beginning of the 5th an Early Christian basilica was erected in the city. However, it seems that it did not survive for long since the barbarian ravages were resumed in the 5th century, and it certainly did not survive the notorious earthquake of 518, heavily damaging the city of Scupi.
Scupi flourished under the reign of the Emperor Iustinian I. After Iustinian's death the Slavs captured the town in the year 625, giving it the name it still carries today - Skopje.
Archaeology - Excavations in three Skopje’s sites
Expert’s team from the Museum of Skopje undertakes intensive excavations in the antique town Skupi. Currently the team works on the main street in the central town area. According to Gjorgji Culakovski, director of the Museum, the excavations have been enabled by the funds received from the sale of Telecom. The team uncovered the pipeline and the sewerage system of the street. It is planned several objects to be fenced: the theatre, the western necropolis and the civil basilica.
In the following phases conservation will be undertaken to the newly discovered objects. The new knowledge will contribute towards further presentation of the antique town in front of the public-said Culakovski.
The excavations in Skupi are managed by Lence Jovanova, archaeologist from the city museum. Teams from the Museum of Skopje excavate two more points in Skopje’s surrounding.
The archaeologist Kire Ristov manages the excavations on the site near village Taor, from the early medieval period, for which the scientists assume that it is the place of birth of the Emperor Justinian I. The archaeologist Milos Bilbija for quite some time has been excavating the Neolithic settlement near the village Govrlevo, where last year a fragment from terracotta Neolithic male figurine was found. Culakovski informed us that the most exclusive finding from this-year excavations in Govrlevo is the head of female terracotta figurine.
After the few months of work on the site Skupi - Discovered Roman necropolis and antique road
So far with the work of the team of Museum of Skopje, bigger part of the works planned for the autumn period have been completed and 150 out of 700 meters of the large town street have been excavated. Works have been done also on the west necropolis and on the micro housing objects.
The intensive work on the site Skupi lasted something more than six months. Mainly, works were done on the west necropolis, which is few-layered archaeological site. For the time being, here we have three cultural horizons.
The oldest horizon is one old Roman necropolis, where the monuments are authentic and preserved. Seven tomb plates have been discovered here, which are found in intact position-the way they were in the antique period, as well as about 20 graves with cremation and 20 graves with inhumation, with skeleton burial. The second cultural horizon is a Roman dump from the craft center of the town. The dump is very important for the archaeology of Skupi, because gives abundance of movable archaeological material with wide range of ceramic dishes, on which basis it is possible to make a complete picture for the homemade production of pottery. This waste material is from the craft workshops that worked in the nearest surrounding. In case of riots or attacks in the town, the dump had been used as a rampart for defense of the necropolis. We assume that the buried in the necropolis belonged to this craft guild.
The last horizon would be the late Roman necropolis from the fourth century from which so far we have excavated around 180 graves with skeleton burial”, says Lence Jovanovska, archaeologist from the Museum of Skopje.. During these excavations 150 meters of the antique road have been uncovered for which it is assumed that is 700 meters long and leaded to the western part of the town. As Jovanovska stressed, this is an important discovery, because on indirect way will give data for the topography and the urbanism of the town. The road is timely related to the early Roman necropolis, around second or the third century. “It was usual to keep the route of the roads, which from time to time had been only upgraded and renewed. This investment in roads had been expensive and the Romans are known as one of the most practical nations, so they only had renewed the roads and had kept the route in the same direction”, adds Jovanovska.
There were certain works on the across street as well, which means that combining the findings from the two large streets with great accuracy it could be assumed where were the town gates, where were the side streets and blocs of the town. It was worked also on micro housing objects that had been constructed above one part of the street. It is about objects from the late Antique period, from 5th to 6th century and later. One part of the objects had been built on top of older Roman objects from the 3rd century, and part of them had been built independently. “Our objective was complete documentation of these objects in order to be able to see what we are going to do with them later on, because they are with inferior brickwork compared to the Roman buildings. After their documentation a model will be done and they will be dislocated in order to research the Roman buildings completely’, says Jovanova.
Water supply and sewerage channels have been found, through which the waste water had been going to Vardar, mainly from the later periods-from the fourth century till the arrival of the Slavs, even later on. Unfortunately, these horizons are quite damaged after the earthquake, when on the site temporary buildings were constructed, so now it is difficult to make complete reconstruction and picture of this period of the life of town Skupi.
Part of the funds for research and upgrading of the site were given by the Ministry of Culture, but the main part of the funds are from the sale of Telecom.
Apart from the excavation and research, cleaning up and fencing on the site Skupi was undertaken, as well as fencing of separate objects, as the theatre, the western necropolis and the civilian basilica. This has been done on the parts where the property-legal relations have been solved, i.e. where there are no inhabited huts, while the archaeological site under the huts has been still waiting the intervention of some of the in charged authorities. Still, after few months, the responsibility is being transferred from the Ministry of Urbanism to the City Authorities, and on the old town of Roman times there are still temporary objects of several firms.
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