The Pontic-Danubian Realm

in the Period of the Great Migration

ARHEOLOKI INSTITUT
BEOGRAD
POSEBNA IZDANJA, KNJIGA 51
COLLGE DE FRANCE CNRS
CENTRE DE RECHERCHE D HI STOI RE
ET CI VI LI SATI ON DE BYZANCE
MONOGRAPHIES 36
The Pontic-Danubian Realm
in the Period of the Great Migration
edited by
Vujadin I & Michel K
Paris Beograd
2012
Suivi de la publication
Emmanuelle Caiir
Composition et infographie
Artyom Tii-Maixos\ax-Vaioax\ax
Association des amis du Centre dhistoire et civilisation de Byzance (ACHCByz)

2010
52 rue du Cardinal-Lemoine 75005 Paris
ISBN 978-2-916716-31-2 978-86-80093-78-9
ISSN 0751-0594
ACHCByz Arheoloki Institut Beograd
Published with a support of the
Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Serbia
(Project n 177021)
ii :
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vujadin Ivanievi, Michel Kazanski. Prface .................................................... 7
I. Te Balkans and the Middle Danube
Ivan Bucaisxi. Occupation of the south Pannonian soil during Antiquity
and the Migration period: ajkaka revisited ...................................... 11
Perica iiuai. Te Danubian limes between Lederata and Aquae during the
Migration period ................................................................................ 35
Vujadin Ivaxisivi. Barbarian settlements in the interior of Illyricum:
Te case of Cariin Grad .................................................................... 57
Tina Miiavic. Late Antique settlements in Slovenia after the year 600 ........... 71
Federico Moxrixaio. Byzantium and the Slavs in the reign of Justinian:
Comparing the two recensions of Procopiuss Buildings ...................... 89
Jaroslav Ti;iai. Cultural or ethnic changes? Continuity and discontinuity
on the Middle Danube ca A.D. 500 ................................................... 115
Zuzana Losxorova. An early- 5
th
-century skeleton grave with
gold neck-ring from Charvty (Moravia) ............................................ 189
Eszter Hoivaru. Cloisonn jewellery from the Langobardic Pannonia:
Technological evidence of workshop practice ..................................... 207
Dieter Quasr. Martial writers Intellectual warriors: Remarks on a group
of Late Antique male graves ............................................................... 243
II. Te Occident
Joan Pixai Gii. Ponto-Danubian traditions of dress in early Visigothic
Hispania: Chronology, dissemination, contexts and evolution . ........... 265
Eduard Dionii;ai. A propos des contacts entre lempire dOrient
et les Germains de lElbe au vi
e
sicle ................................................. 297
Dieter Quasr. Te Alamanni and Byzantium from the 5
th
to the 7
th
century ...... 317
III. Te Northern Pontus
Aleksandr Eixoiix. Durga-Oba a cemetery of the Great Migration period
in the Cimmerian Bosporus ............................................................... 339
Damien Giao. Te Empires inuence on the barbarian elites from the Pontic
region to the Rhine (5
th
-7
th
centuries): A case study of lamellar
weapons and segmental helmet .......................................................... 349
Alekse Fouiassiiv. Byzance et la Crime du Sud-Ouest au vi
e
sicle :
relations culturelles et particularits du costume fminin .................... 363
Michel Kazaxsxi. Radaigaise et la n de la civilisation de ernjahov .............. 381
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
AND AQUAE DURING THE MIGRATION PERIOD
Piiica iiuai
Ixriooucriox
Te region of Djerdap on the middle Danube became a frontier after the Roman
withdrawal from Dacia under the emperor Aurelian. Reinforced during the course of the
4
th
century, the Danubian limes came by the end of this century under strong pressure from
barbarian tribes. One of the steps the Empire took to alleviate this pressure was to settle
the barbarians within its borders. By granting barbarians the status of foederati and settling
them in fortresses along the Danube, Rome pitted them against their former compatriots.
Te presence of barbarian tribes is attested by archaeological evidence at numerous
sites of the limes opposite the Pannonian and the Great Valachian Plain. Tis paper
will focus on one section of the limes, from Lederata to Aquae, most of which traverses
the region of Djerdap, along the slopes of the southern Carpathians. Here the Danube
riverbed is in some places 400 m deep, its sides rise steeply at an angle of 30 to 40
degrees, and the hills reach the altitude of above 1,000 m on the left bank and 700 m
on the right (Cvi;i 1991: 277). Even though the Carpathian foothills terminate be-
yond the Djerdap gorge at Sip, this paper will also cover the territory between Sip
and the Timok conuence, a transitional zone between the mountains and the plain.
Also included are sites along the rivers Velika Morava north of Naissus as well as of
Mlava and Timok; the main communication lines passed through their valleys and
intersected at Naissus. A total amount of 28 archaeological sites with the barbarian
nds from the Migration period is attested in the area under consideration. Tese sites
belong to three horizons (see the Map): 1) from the late 4
th
to the mid-5
th
century;
2) the second half of the 5
th
century; 3) from the early 6
th
to the early 7
th
century.
I. Tui iiisr uoiizox (rui iari
th
rui iiisr uaii oi rui
th
cixrui\)
Te rst horizon belongs to the time of the barbarian tribes settlement as foederati
in the imperial territory, up until the great invasion of the Huns in 441/42, when the
Danubian limes ceased to function (Prisci Fragmenta 1; 1b; Lixiiii 1954: 279280).
Orova, on the left bank of the Danube. A grave or a hoard discovered in this locality in
1857 contained a gold earring and four silver spoons; a part of a belt ensemble was accidentally
Vujadin Ivaxisivi and Michel Kazaxsxi eds, The Pontic-Danubian Realm in the Period of the Great
Migration (Centre de recherche dHistoire et Civilisation de Byzance, Monographies 36 / Arheoloki
institut, Posebna izdanja, Knjiga 51), Paris-Beograd 2012.
36
PERICA PEHAR
unearthed later (Haiuoiu 1997: 183, Taf. LXXXII/14, 8). Te earring, a Roman product,
consisted of three perforated damaged cubes with almandines (Fig. 1 : A). Te silver spoons
(Fig. 1 : B), fairly common among the grave goods in the Medi ter ranean region north of
the Alps and in southern Germany as of the 4
th
century, appear in hoards south of the
Alps as of the second half of the 5
th
and in the 6
th
century (Haiuoiu 1997: 137138).
For the belt set, there is no image available; Bhme classied it according to the description
as a three-part type B belt ensemble (Bouxi 1974: 57; Haiuoiu 1997: 183).
Drobeta, a Roman city situated downstream from Orova. An oval belt tongue with
a rectangular upper side and lower side shaped as a snakes head was unearthed there
by chance (Haiuoiu 1997: 173, Taf. LXXX/7). According to Bhmes classication, this
would be a type 1 belt tongue (Fig. 2) from the second half or the last quarter of the
Map. Sites from the Great Migration period
0 50 100 km
Sites from the 1
st
horizon
Sites from the 2
nd
horizon
Sites from the 3
rd
horizon
Roman towns
37
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
4
th
century; however, an analogous nd from Sucidava is attributed to the late 4
th
or the
early 5
th
century (Bouxi 1974: 57; Haiuoiu 1997: 106).
Hinova. A Roman fortress erected at this site in the early 3
rd
century was destroyed by
the Goths around 376/378, subsequently renovated, and reconquered by the barbarians
soon after the death of Teodosius I (Davioiscu 1989: 127135). Excavations revealed
fragments of a bronze boiler, an iron umbo (Haiuoiu 1997: 177, Taf. LXXXII/7;
LXXXII/E), and a single-row bone comb (Davioiscu 1980: 77, foto 7). Te fragment of
a rim and handle belongs to a bronze boiler with vertical, rectangular handles and three
spherical reinforcements on the upper side (Fig. 3 : A). Such large vessels, 50 to 100 cm high
and weighing up to 35 kg, were related to the Hunnic funeral rites and dated to the rst
half or, more precisely, to the rst decade of the 5
th
century (Koviic 1972: 116; Germanen,
Hunnen und Awaren 1987: 156; Haiuoiu 1997: 132134). However, the nd could also be
dated later, to the middle or second half of the 5
th
century. Te conical, facetted umbo
Fig. 1. Orova: A earring. B silver spoons
Fig. 2. Drobeta: oval belt tongue
3 cm 0
3 cm 0
A B
38
PERICA PEHAR
(Fig. 3 : B), from the late phase of the Pshevorsk culture, or so-called Dobrudza group,
belongs to the late 4
th
early 5
th
century (Haiuoiu 1997: 5051; uxix 1993: 332), as
well as a simple unornamented single-row comb with a semi-circular head (Fig. 3 : C).
Nova, a fortress on the right bank of the Danube, at its conuence with the ezava
river, was erected in the 1
st
century and nally abandoned in the 6
th
century (Vasi 1984:
92102). A single-row comb unearthed at the site had a semi-circular head decorated
with an inverted T-shaped motif made of concentric circles (Fig. 4. : 1). Te nd dates
to the late 4
th
or the rst half of the 5
th
century, and can be linked to the Chernjahov-
Sintana de Mure culture (Pirxovi 1995: 65, Cat. No. 106, T. IX /2).
Saldum, a locality with some evidence of a fortress occupied between the 1
st
and the
6
th
century (Piriovi 1984: 129133; Jiiixi 2009), produced a head of a bone single-
row comb decorated by tiny circles along the rim (Fig. 4. : 2); it might also belong to the
Chernjahov-Sintana de Mure culture and date to the end of the 4
th
or rst half of the
5
th
century (Pirxovi 1995: 65, Cat. No. 107, T. IX/6).
Fig. 3. Hinova: A fragment of a bronze boiler. B umbo. C single row comb
Fig. 4. Combs: 1 Nova; 2 Saldum
1 2
3 cm 0
3 cm 0
A C
B
39
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
Boljetin, ancient Smorna. Tis mid-1
st
century fortress, which was nally abandoned
in the 6
th
century (Zorovi 1984: 211), produced a military belt ensemble made of
bronze. It included a rectangular buckle (Fig. 5 : A) and a small pentagonal plaque with
two horse heads facing each other on the triangular tip ending (Fig. 5 : B) (Poiovi,
V. 1987: 133, Taf. 7/12). Tese items were dated to the last third of the 4
th
or the rst
half of the 5
th
century (Cuaowicx Hawxis, Duxxixc 1964; Bouxi 1974: 160162;
Poiovi, V. 1987: 135136).
Fig. 5. Boljetin: A rectangular belt buckle; B pentagonal tip ending
Fig. 6. Ravna: A belt plate; B buckle tongue
Ravna (Campsa). Tis fortress, also erected before Trajans conquests in Dacia and
nally abandoned in the 6
th
century (Toxovi 1996), produced two fragments of
another bronze military belt ensemble: a little plate with the lateral sides arc-shaped in
one section (Fig. 6 : A), and a buckle tongue (Fig. 6 : B) similar to the nd from Drobeta
(Poiovi, V. 1987: 133, Taf. 7/34). Tese nds belong, likewise, to the last third of the
4
th
or the rst half of the 5
th
century (Bouxi 1974: 160162; Poiovi, V. 1987: 135-136).
A
A
B
B
40
PERICA PEHAR
Donje Butorke is situated not far from Kladovo, about 500 m upstream from the
Turkish fortress of Fetislam. Te site revealed a burgus, most probably built in 294 during
Diocletians journey from Sirmium to Nikomedia, around which a fortress was erected during
the reign of Justinian (Ciixaxovi-Kuzxaxovi 1979: 127133). Te most signicant
nd from this site was a small bula with a rhomboid foot (description only, no image
available). Some authors attribute it to the Kiev type (Miiixxovi 1998: 283284), dated
Tekija (Transdierna) is a village at the
conuence of the Tekija stream with the
Danube, where two fortications were
excavated. Te fortication on the left
bank of the stream dated to the 1
st
century
and the burgus on the right bank, to the
time of Diocletian (Ciixaxovi-Kuz-
xaxovi, Jovaxovi, A. 2004: 1951).
A fragmented biconical ceramic vessel with
a at rim, decorated on the upper part with
slanting, polished motives placed in three
friezes, framed with three to ve horizontal
identical lines, originated from this area
(Fig. 7). It was attributed to the rst half of
the 5
th
century (Toxovi 1984: 351, T. I/13).
3 cm 0
Grave 7
A
B
C
D
E
to the last decade of the 4
th
and the rst half of the
5
th
century (Scuuizi-Doiiiaxx 1986: 655657,
Abb. 76). For the fragments of grey vessels of a ne
make, produced on a potters wheel, we also have
only a description, no image (Mixoniao 1980: 19,
T. IV/910; Miiixxovi 1998: 284286, T. 87/47).
Other discoveries included several types of pottery
(spherical and oval shaped pots, jugs and biconical
vessels), decorated with polished ornaments, dating
from the late 4
th
to the early 5
th
century (Fig. 8).
Pontes, by the village of Kostol. Two fortresses
were discovered next to the remains of a Trajanic
bridge, on both banks of a dried up tributary of
the Danube (Gaiasaxix, Vasi 1980: 78). Te
excavations of the larger fort, on the right bank,
produced material from the 1
st
to the 6
th
century,
including several nds from the Migration period
(Gaiasaxix, Vasi 1980: 78, 1718; Gaiasaxix,
Vasi, Mai;axovi-Vu;ovi 1984: 2527, 4447).
A necropolis situated about 100 m away from the
forts contained ten graves oriented east-west, all
but one with no grave goods. Only grave 7 (Fig. 9)
Fig. 7
41
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
Fig. 8. Donje Butorke: pottery
Fig. 9. Donje Butorke: nds from Grave 7
A
A B
E
C D
B
C
D
3 cm 0
42
PERICA PEHAR
contained a square buckle (Fig. 9 : A) and a small pentagonal plate (Fig. 9 : B) from a
bronze military belt ensemble dating from Late Antiquity, a glazed ceramic vessel with
two handles (Fig. 9 : C), a glass cup with a drawn-out rim and a dewdrop-shaped blue
ornament (Fig. 9 : D), and a belt pendant made of bronze (Fig. 9 : E). Similar military
waist-belts were attributed to the last third of the 4
th
and the rst half of the 5
th
century
(Bouxi 1974: 160162; Popovi, V. 1987: 135136). A single-row bone comb with a
semicircular head decorated with randomly dispersed concentric circles (Fig. 10 : 1),
also discovered in this grave, dates to the late 4
th
or the rst half of the 5
th
century
(Pirxovi 1995: 65, Cat. No. 110, T. IX/4).
Korbovo. In this multi-layered locality (Kisri 1984: 101103), a single-row bone
comb with iron teeth and semicircular head decorated with undulating lines (Fig. 10 : 2)
was unearthed. Like the previous nd of this type, it was dated to the end of the 4
th
and
the rst half of the 5
th
century (Pirxovi 1995: 65, Cat. No. 111, T. X/1).
Fig. 10. Combs: 1 Pontes; 2 Korbovo (both sides)
Vajuga, section Karaula, revealed a fortress containing a basilica, most probably
from the 6
th
century, as well as a necropolis with more than 20 graves, of which only one
has been published (Poiovi, V. 1987: 129132). Tis grave 18 (Fig. 11), located in the
southeastern section of the fortress, was positioned vertically to the northeastern rampart.
Te 12-14 year-old girl buried in the grave had on her breast tiny birds bones. Te grave
goods consisted of a pair of gold-plated silver bulae (Fig. 11 : A-B), a bronze earring with
a loop (Fig. 11 : C), a necklace of pearls (Fig. 11 : D), a triple band ring (Fig. 11 : E), two plain
bronze rings (Fig. 11 : F-G), a black glazed biconical pot with two handles (Fig. 11 : H), and
two perforated coins, one placed in the mouth and the other, beneath the chin (Fig. 11 : I-J).
Chronologically the most signicant were the bulae with large plaque-like triangular heads
and pentagonal feet, decorated with small circles on the frontal side along the rim and along
the vertical axis, as well as with almond-shaped ornaments creating two four-leafed motifs.
Tey belong to the Vikov type that appeared on the Danube between the years 400 and 433
(Poiovi, V. 1987: 129132; Biiiniauii 1989: 149157). Te 4
th
-century coins, of which the
latest was minted in Tessalonica under Gratian (367-375), appear in secondary use. Finally,
the glazed ceramic vessel, while reminiscent of Roman products in shape, was decorated
according to Germanic taste. Based on these nds, the grave was classied as East Germanic,
most probably Ostrogothic (Poiovi, V. 1987: 129-132; Miiixxovi 2006: 32-34).
3 cm 0
1 2
43
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
Fig. 11. Vajuga: nds from Grave 18
H
A
B
C
D
E
F, G
I, J
Grave 18
A
B
Mora Vagei is a site situated about 2.5 km east of Mihajlovac, on the left bank of
the conuence of the Kameniki potok stream and the Danube, where a 1
st
-century
Roman fort was recorded. Above its northeastern corner, a new fortress was built in
Late Antiquity, inside which some late-4
th
early 5
th-
century Germanic pottery was
discovered; unfortunately, the excavation report provides no more specic data or
illustrations (Ciixaxovi-Kuzxaxovi, Sraxxovi 1986: 453455).
3 cm 0
C
F G
E
D
I J 3 cm 0
44
PERICA PEHAR
Aquae and its surrounding area produced three stray nds dating from the Migration
period: a bula with a turned back foot (Jovaxovi 1978: 55; Mrkobrad 1980: 36; no
image available), similar to the Kladovo nd that several authors attribute to the Kiev type
(Miiixxovi 1998: 297), a ceramic vessel decorated with polished lines (Fig. 13 : A), and a
ceramic fragment with identical decoration (Fig. 13 : B). All the nds were dated to the end
of the 4
th
and the rst half of the 5
th
century, although one comes across similar pottery from
the 6
th
century (Miiixxovi 1998: 297299, T. 100/34).
Fig. 12
Fig. 14.
Fig. 13. Donje Butorke: pottery
Radujevac (Karamizar section). In this village situated
about 0.5 km upstream from the conuence of the Timok
and the Danube, a small fortication dating from the 4
th
to
the 6
th
centuries (Jaxxovi 1981: 45) produced a fragment
of a ceramic vessel with a polished web-like motif (Fig. 14).
As in previous cases, the pottery can be dated either to the
late 4
th
- rst half of the 5
th
century, or to the 6
th
century
(Miiixxovi 1998: 299, T. 100/6).
Kragujevac. Te National Museum in this town possesses a small oval golden buckle,
with a long, slightly curved tongue (Fig. 15 : 1), from an unknown site. Interpretated as
Osthrogotic, it has been dated to the rst half of the 5
th
century (Kovaivi 1960: 19,
g. 12; Biiiniauii 1980: 139).
3 cm 0
Borej is the site of a small burgus from the
time of Diocletian. Destroyed in the mid-5
th

century, it was encircled by larger defense walls
during Justinians reign (Cermanovi-Kuzmanovi,
Stankovi 1984: 217218). A single-row bone comb
with a semicircular head unearthed on the site
was decorated with a dotted ornament along the
edge of the body and head, and with three small
concentric circles (Fig. 12). It was dated to the
end of the 4
th
and the rst half of the 5
th
century
(Pirxovi 1995: 65, Cat. No. 112, T. X/3).
3 cm 0 A
B
45
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
Fig. 16. Felix Romuliana: A-B iron bulae, C-F single-row bone combs
Fig. 15. 1 Kragujevac: golden buckle; 2 Parain: bronze bula; 3 Kruevac: golden buckle
Parain (section Ciglana). A bronze bula of Bratei type discovered at the site
(Miiixxovi 1996: 258259, T. 71/4) was dated to the rst half of the 5
th
century
(Vixsxi 1976: 3536, T. VI/8; Biiiniauii 1989: 141, 152) (Fig. 15 : 2).
Kruevac. A golden buckle decorated in cloisonn technique was discovered at the site;
it has a rectangular bounce, a circular hook and a long curved tongue (Miiixxovi 1998:
446447, T. 142/1) (Fig. 15 : 3). It was dated to the early 5
th
century (Dixirii;ivi, Kova-
ivi, Vixsxi 1962: 81, g. 1; Sraoiii 1987: 343, T. 48).
Felix Romuliana. Residential quarters and a palace at this site situated in the Timok
valley were constructed for the Emperor Galerius, but the excavations inside the ramparts
revealed a late- 4
th
-century settlement, which existed until the Hunnic attack (Jaxxovi
1983; Pirxovi 2006). Te excavations produced a pair of iron bulae of the Viminacium
type (Fig. 16 : A-B), dated to the rst half of the 5
th
century (Jaxxovi 1983), although this
type was common from the mid-5
th
to the mid- 6
th
century (Suuizi-Doiiiax 1986,
672, Tabbelle 2). Also belonging to this horizon are several single-row bone combs with
a semicircular head (Fig. 16 : C-F), decorated with small concentric circles (ivi 2003:
107- 109, Cat. Nos. 127-128, 130, 134; Pirxovi 2006, Pl. III/3-4, Pl. IV/4).
3 cm 0
3 cm 0
A
B E
C D
F
1 2 3
46
PERICA PEHAR
II. Tui sicoxo uoiizox (rui sicoxo uaii oi rui
ru
cixrui\)
Te Hunnic invasion of 441/2 caused the Danubian limes to collapse, and Attila
demanded that the frontier between the Empire and the Hunnic realm should be shifted
by a ve-days walk to the south of the Danube. Many fortresses were deserted, and this
period is the least known in the research of the Djerdap limes (Prisci Fragmenta 1, 1b,
7; Lixiiii 1954: 280).
Te collapse of the Hunnic realm after Attilas death strengthened the position of the
Germanic tribes. Gepids and Herules appeared on the Danube; as a counter-measure,
emperor Marcianus (450-457) settled Pannonia with Ostrogoths, who soon became
the greatest threat to the Byzantines. In 473, the Empire was forced to authorize their
settlement in the Balkans, where they tried to establish their own state with its centre in
the town of Novae (Lixiiii 1954: 280-281; Diirz 1987: 37).
Rtkovo-Glamija I. Tis small fort, destroyed in the mid-5
th
century, was discovered
opposite the fortress of Hinova. In the 6
th
century, it was encircled by a larger fortication,
which was never nished (Ganiiivi 1986: 7274). A rectangular silver plating from a
handle, discovered in the small fort, had a at upper side with a swastika-shaped setting for
almandines and a ribbed lower side (Fig. 17) (Ganiiivi 1986: g. 21; Miiixxovi 1998:
289290). A similar gold plating from a spatha came from Sapaja, where it was dated to
around 488 (Vixsxi 1964: 173, g. 1). A gold ring decorated with an identical motif was
discovered in a Herulic necropolis from the second half of the 5
th
century, at the site of
Strajotin in Great Moravia (Ti;iai 1987: 355-356, 364, T. 58). Te salient features of the
metalwork from Rtkovo link it to the East Germanic tribes, most probably the Ostrogoths
at the time of their sojourn in the Balkans (Miiixxovi 1998: 290).
Fig. 17. Rtkovo-Glamija I: silver plating from a knife handle
III. Tui ruiio uoiizox (rui iaii\ o
th
ro rui iaii\ ;
th
cixrui\)
Te Danubian border began to show signs of stabilization and recovery after
the de parture of the Ostrogoths for Italy in 488, from the early reign of Anastasius I
(491- 518). Te process of renewal continued under his successors, Justin I (518-527), and
in particular Justinian I (527-565), who initiated the erection and renovation of a large
number of fortresses in Illyricum (Piocoi. De aedif., IV 4; Daciox 1984: 6).
3 cm 0
47
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
Orova, situated on the left bank of the Danube, revealed
two bulae, only one of which was illustrated. Tese bulae had
semicircular heads with ve small cylindrical bars and a human
mask on the lower part of the foot (Fig. 18). Tey are linked
with the Gepids, and date to the rst half of the 6
th
century
(Csaiix\ 1961: l95196, T. CCXIII/11).
Saldum, on the right bank of the Danube, is the site of a fortress with traces of
habitation from the 1
st
to the 6
th
centuries (Piriovi, P. 1984: 129133; Jeremi 2009). Te
early Byzantine layers produced a pottery fragment with
a spout, around which a rhomboid, web-like pattern was
stamped. Vessels of this type had a biconical receptacle,
a drawn-out rim and one handle (Jiiixi 2009: 101,
Cat. No. 276, g. 53). Tey were classied as Germanic
(Gepidic or Langobardic) and dated to the 6
th
century
(Wiixii 1962: 57, Taf. 19/5; von Hissix 1968: 2224,
Taf. 1.1, Taf. 2.1, Taf. 3; Mixoniao 1980: 66-67, T. LIX/1;
Nmeth 1987: 252, 253, Cat. No. 104.b) (Fig. 19).
Taliata, a fortress erected in the 1
st
century, functioned until the end of the 6
th

century (Poiovi, V. 1984: 278280). Here, too, the early Byzantine layers revealed a
small vessel of light-colored clay, a cup or a bottle fashioned on a potters wheel. It
was described (with no illustration) as having a at rim and a long cylindrical neck; its
decoration consisted of hanging triangular motifs made of rhomboid stamps lled with
a web-like ornament. Classied as Gepidic or Langobardic, such vessels can be dated
by analogies to the second half of the 6
th
century (von Hissix 1968: 2526, 2930, Taf.
14-17; Miiixxovi 1998: 248250, T. 69/1).
Tekija, ancient Transdierna, is the site where several fragments of Germanic stamped
ceramics were found; no illustrations are available or any specic data about the location
of the nds (Sixoxi 1977: 225; Arheoloko blago 1978: 87).
Diana on the Danube riverside is the site of a 1
st
-century castrum, which survived
until the late 6
th
or the early 7
th
century (Raxxov 1980: 53-60; 1984: 7-10; 1987: 5-13). Te
6
th
-century layer contained an arc bula made of a bronze sheet (iiuai 2010: 66- 67,
Cat. No. 130, T. V/130, Sl. 35), with a head decorated with randomly placed circular
motifs and ve radially distributed nger-like extensions (four are preserved) (Fig. 20).
Tis bula resembles, shape-wise, the Velesnica type (Kovaivi 1960: 18; Vixsxi 1978: 31),
classied as Slavic and dated to the late 6
th
and early 7
th
centuries. It belongs to Group D
according to Werner (1950: 160-162, Taf. 37/10- 11; Taf. 39-40), or
Group P according to Vagalinski (1994: 263291). Te new data
on the distribution of this type of bulae link it not only to the
Slavic, but also to the Germanic, Turkic (Kutrigur) and Sarmatian
(Alan) tribes (Wiixii 1950: 150-172; Vacaiixsxi 1994: 264-265,
293-294; Vida, Voiiixc 2000: 26-31, Abb. 9).
3 cm 0
3 cm 0
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
48
PERICA PEHAR
Pontes revealed several nds from the Migration period that may be attributed
to the third horizon. Te rst group of nds consists of ve bronze items similar to
cicada bulae but with no pins, decorated with concentric circles and three to ve ribs
fashioned on the upper end (Fig. 21 : A) (Miiixxovi 1998: 288-289, T. 88/1-5). A cicada
bula of similar shape, unearthed at the necropolis in Burdelj in grave 16, was dated to
the second half of the 5
th
and the early 6
th
century (Ivaxisivi, Kazaxsxi, Masrixova
2006: 17, 142-143, Pl. 3/16/3, g. 8.10). In the 6
th
-century layer, a single-row, unnished
comb with a semicircular head was unearthed, which may indicate the existence of a
workshop producing combs (Fig. 21 : B). Since single-row combs were not characteristic
of the Romans, this specimen may point to the presence of a Germanic tribe (iiuai
2010: 123, Cat. No. 657, T. XXXVI/657). Te comb probably belonged to the type
attested at the Vie grobalja necropolis from the second half of the 5
th
century, yet it is
primarily linked to the period 530/550-580/600. One also encounters nds of this type
among the Gepids and the Langobards (Ivaxisivi, Kazaxsxi, Masrixova 2006: 36,
gs. 18.10, 19.1-8, 20.1-5).
Fig. 21. Pontes: A bronze items similar to cicada bulae B comb
Aquae, a Roman town, produced two nds from the
third horizon: a fragmented bronze, silver-plated bula with
a preserved setting for almandines (Fig. 22) and a clasp with a
massive, curved pin (no illustration). Tese were dated to the
end of the 5
th
and the rst half of the 6
th
century (Mixoniao
1980: 36; Miiixxovi 1998: 297-299; T. 100/2).
Negotin. A bronze bula of unknown origin, garded in the local Museum, has a
semicircular head with ve radially distributed buttons, a short arc and a rhomboid
foot, ending in an elongated animal mask (Fig. 23). It could be attributed to the Reggio-
Emilia type and dated to the second half of the 5
th
and rst third of the 6
th
century
(Biiiniauii 1975: 108-109, 113; Miiixxovi 1998: 300, T. 101/3; Ivaxisivi, Kazaxsxi
2002: 112-113, 127, g. 8, Pl. I.1.1, 2).
Donjiko brdo, near Kragujevac, is situated on the right bank of the Lepenica, around
9 km from its conuence. During the excavation, a late antique forti ca tion and a ne cro-
polis with 40 graves from dierent periods were discovered (Piriovi, D. 1965). Only
two nds belong to the Great Migration period: a cicada bula (Fig. 24 : A) and a pottery
3 cm 0
3 cm 0
A
B
Fig. 22.
49
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
Fig. 23. Negotin: bronze bula
Fig.24. Donjiko brdo: bronze bula
fragment stamped with a rhomboid, web-like pattern (Miiixxovi 1996: 254-255, T. 71/1- 2)
(Fig. 24 : B). Both nds could be dated by analogies to the 6
th
century (von Hissix 1968).
Jerinin grad (in the village of Vojska near Jagodina). A pottery fragment stamped
with a rhom boid, web-like pattern could be linked with Ger manic tribes, most probably
the Gepids, and dated in the 6
th
cen tury (Fig. 25). No image is available for two other
pottery fragments with polished surface that could also be Germanic and date from the
6
th
century (Miiixxovi 1998: 255, T. 71/3).
3 cm 0
A B
Fig. 25. Jerinin grad: pottery
3 cm 0
Momilov grad at Juhor moun tain. An early Byzan tine fortication (Bixnoii 1986)
delivered, among other small nds, a pottery vessel ornamented with a rhomboid web-like
pattern (Fig. 26 : B) and a bone stamp with an engraved oval web-like pattern (Fig. 26 : A).
50
PERICA PEHAR
Tis nd could testify to the production of the so-called Germanic pottery inside the early
Byzantine fortication during the 6
th
century (Miiixxovi 1998: 256- 258, T. 72/2-3).
Kamenova Mea in the valley of the Mlava lies in the vicinity of Petrovac. Te two
graves from the Great Migration period unearthed on the site are believed to be most
probably Gepidic and dated to the second half of the 6
th
century (Sixoxi 1978: 209, 214).
A female was buried in grave 1 with scissors (Fig. 27 : A), a bronze bula with a back
turned foot and coil (Fig. 27 : B), a bronze bula with a semicircular head and ve radially
distributed buttons (Fig. 27 : C), an oval iron buckle (Fig. 27 : D) and biconical ceramic
spinning whorls (Fig. 27 : E) (Sixoxi 1978: 209-210, T. I). Te chronologically most
explicit nd is the bronze bula with a semicircular head, ornamented with small circles
on the head and foot, and also decorated with three ribs on the lower portion. Tis type
of bula is attributed to the Gepids and dated to the 6
th
century (Csaiix\ 1961), like
the bula with a back turned foot.
Fig. 26. Momiilov grad: A bone stamp B pottery
Fig. 27. Kamenova Mea: nds from Grave 1
3 cm 0
3 cm 0
3 cm 0
A B
Grave 1
A C
B
D
E
51
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
A warrior was buried in grave 2 with a laurel-shaped spear with a vertical rib and
circular spigot (Fig. 28 : A), a sax (Fig. 28 : B), a deltoid arrow head with a circular spigot
(Fig. 28 : C), a fragment of scissors (Fig. 28 : D), a knife (Fig. 28 : E), a green glass pearl
(Fig. 28 : F), and a pottery vessel with a double proled rim and short neck, decorated
with rhomboid stamps lled with a web-like pattern that create an ornament similar
to triangular motifs (Fig. 28 : G) (Sixoxi 1978: T. II, T. III/1). Tis vessel is classied as
Gepidic or Langobardic (von Hissix 1968, 29-31, Abb.3).
Felix Romuliana. A biconical pottery vessel or na-
mented with a polish web-like motif (Fig. 29) was dated
to the 6
th
century (Miiixxovi 1998: 303, T. 102/1).
Fig. 28. Kamenova Mea: nds from Grave 2
9 cm 0 3 6
3 cm 0
Grave 2
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
3 cm 0
Fig. 29
52
PERICA PEHAR
Coxciusioxs
Te Carpathian section of the Danubian limes produced a fairly small number of
nds from the Migration period. Most of the items were collected on the right bank
of the Danube, while on the left, they appeared sporadically and were mainly dated to
the end of the 4
th
and the rst half of the 5
th
century. Most right-bank localities that
produced the nds, 13 out of 20, belong to the section between Sip and the mouth of
the Timok, a transitional zone between the mountains and the plain which was the most
jeopardized by the barbarian tribes.
Most of the nds come from fortresses and can be linked to the military, such as parts
of military belts discovered in Orsava, Drobeta, Pontes, Boljetin and Ravna. Tese belts
originate from the Western Empire and are commonly found in the frontier regions on the
Rhine and the Danube. Tey are mainly linked with the Germanic foederati from the last
third of the 4
th
and the rst half of the 5
th
century (Cuaowicx Hawxis, Duxxixc 1964;
Bouxi 1974: 160-162; Poiovi, V. 1987: 135-136). One can attribute to the same milieu
the iron umbo of the Dobrudza type from Hinova and the bulae of the Vikov type
from Vajuga. Tese nds recall the small foederati units that lived with their families in the
fortresses on the Danubian limes, best known by the large number of burials from phases
D1 - 360/370 to 400/410 and D2 - 380/400 to 400/450 in Singidunum and Viminacium
(Ivaxisivi, Kazaxsxi 2002; 2009; Ivaxisivi, Kazaxsxi, Masr\xova 2006).
To the second horizon (second half of the 5
th
century) belongs only the silver metalwork
for a knife decorated with almandines, discovered in the Rtkovo-Glamija I fortress, which
is connected with the Ostrogoths and their presence in these parts of the Empire.
Finds from the third horizon (early 6
th
-early 7
th
centuries) point to a more limited
barbarian presence as compared to the rst. Tese smaller communities may have had
the role of defending the frontier, as in Viminacium, where a settlement was recorded
alongside an important necropolis from this period (Poiovi, M. 1987; Ivaxisivi,
Kazaxsxi, Masr\xova 2006). Te nds from the region of erdap mainly consist of
bulae and fragments of pottery dated to the 6
th
century, which can be linked with the
Germanic tribes, or to be more exact, with the Gepids or Langobards. An early 7
th
-
century bula discovered at Diana may have been of a Slavic origin.
Only in Felix Romuliana, the small nds from the rst horizon, discovered along the
valleys, were unearthed inside a fortication. By way of contrast, the nds from the third
horizon were mainly discovered inside the ramparts. Tis could indicate that the nds
from the rst horizon represent traces of a barbarian invasion, while the sites from the
third horizon testify to a presence of foederati deeper inside the territory of the Empire,
as in the case of Gradina on Jelica mountain near aak (Miiixxovi 2002; 2010).
Te Carpathian section of the Danubian limes was not directly in the path of the
barbarian tribes, who avoided the mountain passes and preferred to use the more accessible
Pannonian and Great Valachian Plains for their raids. Terefore, the barbarian penetration
to the Aegean Sea primarily unfolded along the Morava-Vardar valley or through Trace.
53
THE DANUBIAN LIMES BETWEEN LEDERATA
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