Zaldapa (''Zeldepa'', grc, Ζάλδαπα, Ζέλδεπα) was a large
Late Roman fortified city in
Scythia Minor
Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: , ) was a Roman province in late antiquity, corresponding to the lands between the Danube and the Black Sea, today's Dobruja divided between Romania and Bulgaria. It was detached from Moesia Inferior by th ...
/
Moesia, located near today's
Abrit,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
It was originally an ancient
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
settlement from around the 8th century BC. The site of over 35 hectares was protected from the East, North and Northwest by a deep valley.
Excavations have revealed the defensive walls, a Roman civic basilica, an early Christian basilica with two crypts and a huge water reservoir. The walls had 32 bastions of various shapes and 3 main and 2 secondary gates. The double north gate was designed to enclose and trap attackers.
Zaldapa is included in the list of fortifications renovated during the reign of Emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...
the Great (527–565). It was also mentioned as the seat of a bishop.
In 2015, a Greek stone inscription has been discovered by the archaeologists excavating the ruins of a Christian bishop's basilica in the fortress of Zaldapa.
BULGARIAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND STONE INSCRIPTION, RED MARBLE PILLAR IN BISHOP’S BASILICA IN ROMAN AND BYZANTINE FORTRESS ZALDAPA
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References
*
Further reading
* Dominic Moreau, Nicolas Beaudry & Georgi Atanasov, with the collaboration of Ioto Valeriev, Albena Milanova, Brahim M'Barek, Elio Hobdari & Irina Achim, "The Archaeology of the Late Roman City of Zaldapa: The Status Quaestionis in 2016 (with an Appendix on Seasons 2017–2019)", in Dominic Moreau, Carolyn S. Snively, Alessandra Guiglia, Isabella Baldini, Ljubomir Milanović, Ivana Popović, Nicolas Beaudry & Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska (eds), ''Archaeology of a World of Changes: Late Roman and Early Byzantine Architecture, Sculpture and Landscapes. Selected Papers from the 23rd International Congress of Byzantine Studies (Belgrade, 22–27 August 2016) – In memoriam Claudiae Barsanti'', BAR Publishing, Oxford (BAR International Series, 2973), 2020, pp. 35-55.
External links
The Zaldapa Fortress near the village of Abrit
Byzantine forts
Roman towns and cities in Bulgaria
Tourist attractions in Dobrich Province
Roman fortifications in Moesia Inferior
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