The Roman Tomb of Silistra (, ''Rimska grobnitsa v Silistra'') is an Ancient Roman burial tomb in the town of Silistra in northeastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. Dating to the mid-4th century AD, the Roman Tomb is the best-preserved architectural monument of the

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

city of Durostorum. The tomb is considered "one of the most investigated and most discussed monuments of the late antique art in Bulgaria" and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

,Atanasov, p. 447. owing in large part to the quality and extent of its interior frescoes.

History

Though the influence of Christianity had reached Silistra by the time, the Roman Tomb is clearly an example of pagan art commissioned by a pagan owner. Thus, it is considered likely that it predates

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

's persecution of Roman paganism. Its construction also likely preceded the Gothic invasion of Durostorum of 376–378, which caused great turmoil in the city. The invasion may have caused the master's family depicted in the tomb to flee the city, explaining the lack of burials in the tomb. In any case, the tomb must be stylistically ascribed to the 4th century and specifically to Theodosius I's reign. The Roman Tomb was coincidentally discovered in 1942 in the southern outskirts of Silistra, a major town in

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja ( or simply , ; or , ), also the Quadrilateral (), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km an ...

on the banks of the Lower

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. Silistra had only recently been transferred by

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

back to Bulgaria as part of the 1940

Treaty of Craiova The Treaty of Craiova (; ) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its terms, Romania had to allow Bulgaria to retake Southern Dobruja, which Romania had gained ...

. Since 1984, the Roman Tomb of Silistra has been on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's Tentative List of

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Architecture and frescoes

The stone tomb features a single burial chamber and measures . It has a west–east orientation, with the entrance on the east wall and a semi-cylindrical brick vault.Atanasov, p. 448. It is located amidst the ruins of a necropolis from

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

which included other similar structures. Ceramic plates, rectangular in shape and painted using the fresco-secco technique, cover the entirety of its floor. In contrast to most other known Roman tombs from the period in the Balkans, the entire interior is covered by multi-coloured mural paintings. The northern, southern and eastern walls feature a procession of

servants A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly d ...

, whereas the frescoes of the western wall, directly opposite the entrances, depict the master and his wife.Atanasov, p. 449. A

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

running along the walls of the tomb contains 11 panels featuring the portraits of male and female slaves bringing various gifts and garments to the masters. The procession runs from either side of the central panel that portrays the masters, providing for a symmetrical composition. The tomb's decoration also includes hunting scenes, candlesticks, plants and animals, including

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

s and

pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

s. Overall, the decoration's remarkable level of preservation and the quality of the mural paintings makes the tomb a "unique example of art and life" in the outer regions of the Roman Empire during the turbulent 4th century. The Roman Tomb of Silistra is situated at the intersection of the Sedmi Septemvri and Boyka Voyvoda Streets in the town. As of 2016, it can only be toured after a prior reservation at the Regional Historical Museum of Silistra.

References

* {{Silistra Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Bulgaria Tourist attractions in Silistra Province Buildings and structures in Silistra Archaeological sites in Bulgaria World Heritage Tentative List Roman sites in Bulgaria Roman Empire paintings Death in ancient Rome Late Roman Empire art History of Silistra Tombs in Bulgaria

History

Architecture and frescoes

See also

References