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Lower Danube: Reconstruction of East Gate at
Abritus
The Roman fort at Abritus,
located
about 50 km south of the Danube in the ancient province of Moesia
(present
day Bulgaria), expanded gradually in size over the four centuries of
its
use. Some documentation on the fort's evolution is available, as the
site
was frequently mentioned by ancient Greek, Latin, Gothic, and Byzantine
authors.
At the end of the 1st century until AD 136, the legionary unit cohors
II
Lucensium settled in Abritus. A major battle took place there between
the
Goths and the Romans in AD 251, resulting in the death of the emperor
Decius.
The gates and walls were expanded during the reign of Constantine the
Great
(AD 306-327), and in 327 AD the walls totalled 1400 meters in length,
surrounding
a vast fortified area.
Excavations by Prof. Teofil Ivanov found decisive evidence that
ancient Abritus
lay at the modern town of Razgrad. Unfortunately, no remains of a
related
military camp have so far been discovered. Excavations in the central
and
the western part of the archaeological site have been limited by the
presence
of a modern factory. However, graphical reconstructions of the fort and
walls
are possible, based on ancient sources and regional military site
comparisons
(fig.1).
[Fig.1: A reconstruction of the East Gate at Abritus (J. Furkov
1985).]
.
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