Проект „Никополис ад Иструм – геофизика extra muros“. Резултати от проучването през 2021 г.

Abstract

The general aim of the project is to enhance our knowledge of Nicopolis ad Istrum city plan outside of the fortification wall. At present the immediate surroundings of the Roman civitas are under meadows. Thus geophysical survey is one of the most extensive ways to investigate the extramural urban planning. The total area covered by geomagnetic survey in 2021 is 9.09 ha (101 quadrants of the square grid), while the resistivity survey was conducted over 1.11 ha. The surveyed areas are on the two banks of the Nikyupsko dere Creek, to the northwest and to the north of the Roman city. Not all of the registered anomalies are clear for interpretation due to the character of the building materials used in Antiquity, the search and extraction of spolia, and the depth of the structures. Potential pottery kilns and workshops have been registered along the creek. Extramural continuations of streets, or cardines and decumani cut off by the fortification wall (built circa 175 AD) from the initial urban planning, are visible in the geophysics results. Building foundations have also been registered. In addition to the Western aqueduct, information from previous field surveys suggests two more northwestern aqueducts that supplied the city with water. Some of the registered anomalies could be identified with one of those structures.

Keywords

• Nicopolis ad Istrum
• Roman provincial cities
• urban planning
• Geophysics