Athena Review Image Archive ™
The fortified plateau of Hissarlik
containing the site of Abritus slopes down toward the river Beli Lom, a
tributary
of the Roussenski Lom which, about 50 km to the north, joins the
Danube
at Rousse, site of the Roman fort Sexaginta Prista. This fertile
alluvial
region has, since ancient times, contained agricultural and
cattle-breeding
fields and vineyards, providing food for both civil and military
populations.
Large storage facilities for grain from the late Roman Empire have been discovered within the massive walls of the fort at Abritus. About ten meters south of the western gate was excavated an horreum, or grain warehouse, with thirteen bastions or counterforts along both its east and west walls (fig.1). The rectangular ground plan of the building, which was in use between the 4th and 6th centuries AD, is orientated from north to south, with outer dimensions of 56 by 20 meters.
[Fig.1: The reconstructed horreum or grain warehouse at Abritus (J. Furkov; in T. Ivanov and S. Stoyanov 1985).]
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