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Stobi in YugoslavianMacedonia:Archaeological
Excavationsand Research,1977-78
JamesWiseman
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
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Figure 2. Simplified plan showing the Central Basilica (in outline), Synagogue II (in heavy lines), and earlier Roman walls
(hatched lines). Drawing by Frederick P. Hemans.
Figure 3. Synagogue I or earlier structure. Molded stucco on wall. View from west.
15. W-MZ (1971) 408and fig. 20. More of the courtyardwas uncoveredin 1977and an oven, utilizingfragmentsof a largepithos in
its construction,was foundnearits NW corner.
22. W-MZ (1971) 398-401; W-MZ (1972) 420-24; W-MZ (1973) 39799; W-MZ (1974) 142-46; W-MZ (1976) 283-93.
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Macedonia.ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
400 Stobi in Yugoslavian
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Figure 6. Building A. The foundation of the east wall (foreground) was set in a trench cut through a mortar floor (under
the meter stick) of Building B. View from the west.
Figure7. BuildingA. North wall, northaislesandpartof centralareain Nave X32 fromthe south.
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up
a colonnadewas alreadyin place, since it slopes
after
over,
partly
and
around,
curves
the stylobate,then
onto
Ionic
must have been the lower torus of an
what
a
that
shows
also
plaster
The
base (FIG. 10).
column
west.
was set into the base and extendedto the
screen
a
that
doubt
no
be
can
there
we shall see below,
As
the
of
stylobate separatedthe red plaster floor
similar
aisle from the centralspace.
south
the fill
An Ionic column base was found in 1975 in
south
the Building A floor below the basilica
above
the
and
torus
(FIG. 11). The size of the lower
aisle
suggest
of screencuttingsin the base strongly
presence
of
bases of this type stood on the two stylobates
that
recovfar
so
A (FIG. 10). The single example
Building
be presumed, because of its place of dismay
ered
to have stood on the south stylobate.
covery,
barrier
A narrowerfoundationfor a screen-and-post
and,
east
the
to
continuesthe line of the colonnade
is
phase
earlier
The
again,tu-o phases are indicated.
the
of
block
a
in
hole
by a lead-filleddowel
represented
systemwas
base(FIG. 10). At a later period the barrier
almost
point
a
at
alteredso that a screen terminated
of
blob
thick
A
hole.
dowel
preciselyabove the earlier
surupper
its
on
bore
hole
mortarcovering the dowel
of
face,at the time of excavation,the clear impression
anyif
What,
east.
the
to
theend of a screenextending
screen and
thing, Ellledthe narrow space between the
clear.
yet
not
is
thecolumnto the west
and
A barrieralso extended south from the column 7).
(FIG.
pavements
floor
different
separatedtwo quite
foundation
Although the barrieritself and most of its
m.) of
(0.30
width
the
antiquity,
in
had been removed
have stood is
the base course on which the screenmust
a slab of
preservedat the north end of the line between
border of a
marble revetment on the west and the
field is 2.1
mosaic field on the east (FIG. 10). The mosaic
and white,
m. (N-S) x 1.6 m. with a design,chieflyin red
circles.
of hearts and crosses formed by overlapping and
south
Part of an identicalfield is preservedto the
of the later
was broken throughby the south stylobate
from
extended
basilica(FIG. 12).31This latter Eleldalso
in Trenches SA X3 and X5;
31. Fragments of this mosaic were found
see above in this section of the report.
0,46
17
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1978
by M. Milojevicand
Figure11. IoniccolumnbaseA-75-1.Drawing
C. Morgan.
Macedonia:ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
404 Stobiin Yugoslavian
Figure12. Centralareaof BuildingA in Nave X32 fromthe north.Partof amboof the laterbasilicais visible,upper
right.
Macedonia.ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
406 Stobi in Yugoslavian
142.875 m. where it ended on a layer of large stones
projectingfrom below the wall and evidently forming
part of its substructure.SA X6B, 1.5 m. long, was more
productive.The red plaster floor, which slopes west to
east, was at elevation 143.315/143.215m. and is ca. 1
cm. thick, bedded only on a thin layer of fine sand.
Below the sand in both trenches was a thick deposit
(ending at elevation 142.19m. in SA X6B) of pieces of
lime mortar,stones, brick fragments,charcoal,and bits
of clay in a matrix of sandy, medium-hardearth. A
total of 433 potsherds was found in this deposit, but
only a few sherdswereconsidereddiagnosticin the preliminary examination by Anderson-Stojanovic, including a fragmentof a MacedonianGray Ware dish
and a piece of North African Red Slip Ware. Other
contextual materialincluded part of a coin, two small
lamp fragments,pieces of marble revetmentand opus
sectile, glass, and pieces of iron, bronze,and lead.35The
materialprovides a terminus post quem of the mid-4th
centuryA.C. for the constructionof BuildingA.
The lower levels of Trench SA X6B were also informative.Below the largestones of a collapsedwall and a
thin layer of sterile sand, a hard-packedearth-and-clay
floor was encounteredat elevation 141.655/141.745m.,
sloping down south to north. Contextual materialbelow this floor and extendingto bedrock at 140.90 m.
has been dated, after preliminaryanalysis,only ;;Early
Roman."36
stylobates.42
2. BuildingC
The upperpreservedsurfaceof Wall C4 lies at elevation 148.10 m., immediately below Atrium Floor 1
(discussedin Section 3C.1), a layer of hardbrownearth
and small stones. The upper preservedpart of Wall C3
is a flat mortaredsurface,probably a levellingcourse,
at elevation 147.65 m. Both walls had been broken
throughby the constructionof the atrium/narthexwall
(EB Wall 16), and C3 was presumablydismantledat
that time to the levellingcourse. Wall C3 had been cut
through on the sw by the atrium/south corridorwall
(EB Wall 38) and part of its upper surfacewas gouged
out to allow a drain,associatedwith BasilicaPhaseI, to
pass throughthe atriumwall foundation.
All deposits excavated SE of Wall C3 belong to the
later basilica constructionand are discussedin a later
section. Deposits west of C3, however,in the spacepartially defined by C3 and C4, include a dumped fill
above a series of destruction debris (possibly representing the deliberate dismantlingof roof and upper
mud-brickwalls), ending on an earth and clay floor at
elevation ca. 146.72 m. The contextual material from
the depositsbetweenthe dump fill and the floor date to
the early 5th century A.C.44 Below the floor a series of
deposits representingoccupationaldebris between the
2nd and 4th centurieswas excavatedto a level of 144.35
m. wherediggingwas stoppedat the end of the season.
Although additional excavation and study in 1979
will be necessaryto determinethe constructiondate of
BuildingC, the work in 1978 shows that the building
was in existenceat least as early as the 4th centuryA.C.
We can now see that the earlier city grid plan, represented in the area underdiscussionby BuildingD and
the Episcopal Residence, was interrupted both by
BuildingA and BuildingC, the latterbeing alignedwith
44. Lots 2356-2364.
Macedonia.ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
408 Stobi in Yugoslavian
a predecessorof the Via Sacrawhichevidentlyfollowed
much the same course betweenthe Porta Heracleaand
the site of the EpiscopalResidence(FIGS. 4-5). We may
no longer speak of the later EpiscopalBasilica as having been imposed upon the earliergrid of the city, for it
simply approximatesthe orientationof its predecessor,
BuildingA.
The relationshipbetweenBuildingsC and A remains
to be determined.The contextual material from the
room west of C3 suggestsa privateratherthan a public
building. If that interpretationstands, following more
detailedstudy of the material,there is not likelyto have
been a direct architecturallink betweenthe two structures. In that event C3 might have bordereda street
running NW-SE (parallel to the predecessorof the Via
Sacra) west of Building A; the difference in level
betweenthe two buildingswas over 3 m. but could have
been compensated for by stairways.45If the early
church, BuildingA, had an atrium,its form must have
been as anomalousas its successor.
3. BuildingD andtheAreaSouthof the Basilica
(Descriptionby DraganStojanovic)
Figure17. Glassjar. Inv. No. G-78-49.Drawingby DraganStojanovic.The illustrationsareat an identicalscale.
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After the pipe was laid, the level of the entire southern area was raised 0.5 to 1 m. to an elevation of ca.
143.43m.,55the rubblewall over the pipe channelwas
55. The material from this very mixed fill was uniformly Early
Roman in date. The fill may have been broughtin from some other
area or, at least in part, may have been left over from the trenchdug
for the pipe, sinceit includedmanyfragmentsof sandstoneand lumps
of clay.
Macedonia:ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
412 Stobi in Yugoslavian
The earliestdatableartifactin the entireareasouthof
the basilicaterracewall also was found in BaptisteryX4
in a layer of stones and fine black earth immediately
above the sterilegreen clay; the latter was at elevation
142.252m. Here, along with 12 other sherdsof the 1st
centuryB.C.to the 1st centuryA.C.,were foundsix joining fragmentsof a red-figuredskyphos.
OFigure
21. Red-figured skyphos fragment. Inv. No. C-78-158. Drawing by Dragan Stojanovic. The illustrations are at an
dentlcal scale.
Figure 23. Atrium. Drain and south wall of the atrium from the north. The paving slab on the earth pedestal to the right
belongs to the final floor of the courtyard.
Earlierexcavatorshad reportedthe existenceof a mosaic floor in the north wing of the narthex,but no description,drawing,or photographwas ever published.68
The area was consequentlycleanedto floor level (elevation ca. 148.1 m.) in 1977 and two patches of mosaic
were revealed.The larger,in the NW corner,preservesa
broad border displayinga vine scroll and part of one
68. Dj. Mano-Zissi, "Mosaiken in Stobi," BIABulg 10 (1936) 278.
Macedonia:ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
416 Stobi in Yugoslavian
sand nearly0.5 m. thick.The sand covereda whitemortar surface that sloped down from the stylobate. The
degreeof slope increasessharplybelow the screenbase;
the maximum elevation of the surface against the
stylobateis 147.21m. and at the northend of the trench
(a distanceof 1.5 m.) the floor is at 146.99m.
Once again, no trace of the Phase II floor pavement
was found in the north aisle. The Phase I floor
representedby the white mortar surface lies at approximatelythe originallevel of the Phase I mosaic of
the south aisle,75but the mortarhere, like the Phase I
mortarin the north wing of the narthex,is not the pink
(horosan)mortarof whichthe otherbasilicamosaicsare
made. What is more, not a single mosaic tesserawas
found in the depositsabovethe mortarsurface.
4. TheNave
75. 147.245 m.; see the section in W-MZ (1974) fig. 28.
76. Despite the statement by Balduin Saria that the entire nave had
been excavated to floor level in 1927 "Novi Nalasci u Episkopskoj
Crkvi u Stobima," GlasnikSkopSe(1933) 11-12. He also reported that
there was no mosaic in the nave floor.
Figure25. Nave floor, PhaseII. Partof the northstylobateis visibleat the top of the photograph.
Comments
Line 1. Restituit or renovavit;Numisius, or Numicius,
or Nummius. The formulais unusualsince the name normally precedesthe statementof constructionor reconstruclatine, ed. 4
tion; see Rene Cagnat, Cours d'eopigraphie
(Paris 1914)263-67.Also, i(mpensis)s(uis) is usual,though
the parallelexpressionis often s(ua) p(ecunia);but cf. an
inscriptionfrom Delphi recordinga repairto the templeof
Apollo by Domitian in the year 84 A.C. The inscriptionis
publishedin Robert Flaceliere,Fouillesde DelphesIII, iv, 2
(Paris1954),inscriptionNo. 120:
Imp. [C]aesarDi[vi Ves]pasianif. [D]omitianus
Aug. [Germ]anic[u]sp[ont. max]im.,tr[ib. po] test.
III, p.p.,imp.VII,cos.X, des. [XI],
tem[plu]mApo[llinis]sua im[p]ensarefecit.
5. ThePresbyterium
Figure 29. North synthronos. View from a bipod after the removal of
Elnal-phaseconstruction. North is at the top of the photograph.
84. Kolarikand Petrovski,op. cit. (in note 10) figs. 9-10. The top of
the entranceshaftis visiblein fig. 1 in W-MZ( 1971).
87. Kolarikand Petrovski,op. cit. (in note 10) 82, note 22, and fig.
14.
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Macedonia:ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
422 Stobi in Yugoslavian
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00w'1X'
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2m.
1977
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Figure 31. Plan of the crypt in the south aisle showing adjacent portions of the Phase I mosaic. Drawing by Frederick P.
Hemans.
Figure 32. Vaulted crypt in the south aisle after the removal of the Phase I mosaic. View from the NE.
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14500
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45 C
, 1,
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46 (
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Im
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Figure 33. Sections through the crypt in the south aisle. Drawing by Frederick P. Hemans.
Macedonia.ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
424 Stobi in Yugoslavian
membersof the same familyas high rankingofficialsof
the Roman Empirein Macedonia.9
7. The Baptistery
Figure 34. Upper part of skeleton as found within the crypt. Head is
to the west.
Figure 35. Feet of skeleton as found in the crypt. The lower part oI the pointed-toe slipper for the left foot lies on the floor
of the tomb, lower rlght.
west, and south walls of the courtyardwest of the Baptistery and a plaster floor laid over the whole area,
covering the lower part of Wall 13. One could then
enter directlyfrom the court into the central,now only,
room of the Baptistery.
The earlier walls at the SE corner of the Baptistery
referredto above have been only partiallyinvestigated.
The SE corner of the Baptisteryactually cuts into the
corner of this early structure, as can be seen in the
restored plans (FIGS. 4-5). The fine stone-and-concrete
constructionof the early N-S wall was laterbuilt over by
a cruder constructionof stone and rubble with earth
bonding,and a parallelwall of similarconstructionwas
built abutting the south wall of the Baptisteryat the
east edge of the Baptisteryentrance.The latterwall also
overlies walls of the earlier building. These constructions effectivelyisolateda space on the south side of the
Baptisterybetween the entranceand the corner of the
building,while a small courtyardwas also enclosedon
the sw side of the Baptistery(FIG. 4).
Within the space thus created east of the south entranceto the Baptistery,an oven of moderatesize was
constructed;it is backed up almost against the wall of
Figure 36. Oven and walls at SE corner of Baptistery. View from the south.
A large portion of the complex adjacentto the Episcopal Basilicaon the north was excavatedby Professor
DjordjeMano-Zissijust before the Germaninvasionof
Yugoslavia in World War II. The succeedingyears of
turmoil prevented a full report on those excavations
and only a brief discussion of the remains has
appeared.95
A few objectsfound in the excavationswere
of an ecclesiasticalnature, including a bronze censer
and a golden finger ring decorated with an elaborate
cross. ProfessorMano-Zissisuggested,in the studyjust
cited, that the buildingservedas a Christianoratoryin
the 4th centuryand was convertedinto a residencefor
the bishop in the 5th century.The datingof the original
structurewas based on the style of several decorative
architecturalelementsthat weremade of stucco.
In 1977 two trencheswere dug outside the NEcorner
of the EpiscopalBasilicato investigatethe possibilityof
direct communication,possibly by a stairway,between
the basilicaand the residence.In Septemberof that year
the staff architect, Frederick P. Hemans, assisted by
Caroline Downing Hemans, supervisedthe cleaning of
95. Djordje Mano-Zissi, "Stukatura u Stobima," Zbornik Narodnog
Muzeja 3 (Beograd 1962) 101-107.
Macedonia.ExcavationsandResearch,1977-78/Wiseman
428 Stobi in Yugoslavian
Deo Caes(ari)
et Municipio
Stobensium
Sacrum Isidis T(itus) Fl(avius)
Longitu>s Augustalis
"To the God Caesar
and the Municipium
of the people of Stobi
Titus Flavius Longinus,
an Augustalis
(dedicated this) Sanctuary of Isis."
4. OtherActivities
A. Excavations