From an element to a composition: Reconstruction of a vault of terracotta tubes from Timacum Minus, Serbia

Abstract

The renewal of the archaeological excavations of Timacum Minus in 2019 initiated extensive analyses and an additional interpretation of the results of previous excavations of its buildings. One of the buildings outside the fortification has attracted special attention, because of both its constructive solutions and its dimensions. Although the archaeological research of “the building with a hypocaust” has never been completed, there are enough discovered segments that indicate the applied building techniques and constructions. In addition to under-floor and wall heating systems, this building had vaults built of terracotta tubes. The rarely discovered and insufficiently documented examples of this type of vaulted structure in Roman architecture in south-eastern Europe necessitate a deeper analysis of their remains in Timacum Minus, with the aim of obtaining relevant information important not only for the reconstruction of the construction process and appearance of “the building with a hypocaust”, but also for future architectural analyses of Roman buildings in the territory of Serbia and in the surrounding region.

Keywords

• vaults
• vaulting tubes
• terracotta tubes
• tubi fittili
• timacum minus
• building techniques
• roman architecture
• late antique architecture
• severan period
• south-eastern europe