Viminacium is an archaeological site located 12 km from Požarevac and 100 km from Belgrade. There is no direct line to get there, so it is best to take your own transport or bus to Požarevac, and from there by local transport…
However, the site itself is large, so you’ll need a car for that as well.
This Roman military camp and city was created in the 1st century and lasted until the beginning of the 7th century. It was one of the capitals of the Roman province of Moesia Superior.
It included the area of today’s Serbia, south of the Sava and the Danube, a bit of Macedonia, Montenegro and half of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which, at the height of its glory, 40,000 people lived.
This was an important military hub where the VII Legion of Claudius and the IV Legion of Flavius were stationed. The former Roman city and military camp of Viminacium extends over 450 ha under arable land.
Due to the fact that Viminacium remained buried for so long under numerous layers of earth, it is also called the Pompeii of the Balkans. It is very good that Viminacium is not located under a settlement, such as Sremska Mitrovica where, due to the city, excavations are very difficult. Here, Viminacium is threatened only by excavators, which dig coal, but thanks to them, a lot of things have been found by accident.
Who was here?
Hadrian organized a hunt here, Trajan prepared for war with the Thracians, Gordian III, Philip, the Arabians and others. Emperor Hostilian stayed with his mother here for a year. He fell ill here with the plague and died. It is believed that he was buried in the crypt.
He never left the city. He was in charge of the deployment of the Roman legions, which were supposed to protect the border from barbarian incursions.
It is possible that his burial was carried out by burning in the Roman manner, when after burning the deceased is covered with a thin layer of earth and the entire area is closed with stone, because burned bones and part of the fibula were found.
The visit to Viminacium was organized as follows. A guide will meet you in a nearby cafe.
After the introductory lecture, you will be guided through the most important part of this complex.
Under the ground, you can visit three discreetly lit tombs – pagan, Christian and the one with the Cupid. As you can see, I missed this part.
When the tour of the necropolis is over, everyone gets into their car and goes to another location, the remains of the walls of the so-called military fortification. Porta Praetoria. and then to the third location – where the Roman baths are located. Since getting in and out of the car is a special endeavor for me, I had to choose what I would visit.
List of all locations, which are visited in Viminacium:
Paleo-Christian memorial, Northern gate of Porta Pretoria military camp, mausoleum, mammoth skeleton excavated in 2009. The skeleton of Vika and five other partially preserved mammoths belong to the type of steppe mammoth, it is estimated that the mammoth is a female, about 60 years old, 4.5 m tall, over 5 m long and weighing about 10 tons. It belongs to a very rare species and so far around twenty preserved mammoth skeletons have been found in the world.
Domvs scientiarvm
A scientific research center in the shape of a Roman villa. Here you can easily imagine a Roman in a white toga walking through the stone corridors. It has two levels, the upper level is laboratories, workshops and accommodation for visitors.
In the lower part are the museum, depots and halls.
Although not wheelchair accessible, this center made me feel like Indiana Jones. It has a unique atmosphere of ancient Rome.
You are given the opportunity to try some of the dishes from the Roman era as part of an organized group, such as: cooked ham in dough with figs or dates stuffed with hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts.
Roman baths
A place where citizens gathered and socialized. The city baths were public. Only children were not allowed to enter. The public bath in Viminacium consisted of 4 tepidariums (hot water pools) and one frigidarium (cold water pool), which were entered in a certain order.
Between each dip in the pool there were massages, exercises and conversations, so bathing itself was a very long process. If a Roman were asked why he bathed once a day, he would say that it was because he didn’t have time for two baths.
Scientists have established that in Viminacium it was also possible to bathe at night because the thermal baths were still working then.
Amphitheater in Viminacium
No Roman city can be imagined without an amphitheater dedicated to events such as gladiatorial fights, wild animal fights, animal hunts, naval battles, executions of convicts and other spectacles. The arena in Viminacium was built first of wood and then of stone and could hold 7,000 people.
Gladiators went through rigorous training, trained by a lanista or butcher, an old gladiator who survived his fights. First, new trainies practiced on a straw man with a wooden weapon. They were fed large amounts of grain mash in order to gain size and muscle mass. They slept in small cells where they could only sit and wait for there time.
Conclusion
To date, only 5% of the site has been excavated. I was able to visit 20% of the excavation site. I learned a lot about the former inhabitants and it’s really exciting to be able to be close to something so authentic. I can’t say Viminacium is a happy place for wheelers like me, but the least I can do is come, see and visit this place.
Have you been to Viminacium?
Did I miss something?
Traveled and enjoyed,
Marko Veličković
