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  • Doclea
  • Rogami
  • Doclea

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    Periods

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    Chronology

    • 100 BC - 602 AD

    Season

      • From 15-30 October 2007, the first season of a program of geophysical survey commenced at the site of Doclea as a joint research project between The British School at Rome (BSR), the Archaeological Prospection Services of Southampton (APSS) and the Universita’ Degli Studi di Urbino. The survey was undertaken on behalf of Dr. Miomir Mugosa, the Mayor of Podgorica, and the Council of Podgorica under the direction of the Museum of Podgorica (Director - Zorica Mrvaljevic, Dr. Dragan Radovic) as part of the wider ‘New Ancient Doclea’ project. The aim of the geophysical survey was to discover the extent of the remains of the ancient Roman town of Doclea through locating and mapping the presence of subsurface archaeological features, for the purpose of preserving and developing the site as a national heritage site, and where possible to help pinpoint potential areas for excavation. In the central portion of the west area our survey revealed one complete insula block, with inner courtyards and cortiles, and possibly the top portion of a second insula block. The strength and form of the signal suggests there is significant ceramic material surviving beneath the surface. The rest of this west area was largely devoid of archaeological features suggesting that this area represents the outer limit of the Roman urban development. The size and orientation of the insulae make it possible to establish the wider town plan. The eastern portion of our survey area contains the most well preserved standing monumental structures, and in the immediate surroundings the survey revealed buried building complexes in the area directly to the east and west of the forum. There is also a possible street running alongside the forum which is strong evidence to support the projected town plan of Doclea.
      • In the period from October to November, excavation was carried out on the site of Roman town Doclea in Podgorica.The site was situated on the eastern side of the forum where presumably two main streets were crossed each other. This site was marked with No. IX on the map made by Italian archaeologist Stikotti in 1913. Some of this area was investigated in excavations that took place in 2005, which were suddenly stopped. The excavation showed that building IX was built on the remains of an older building of which segments of the foundations were preserved in segments, at a relative depth of 120 cm, from the average height of visible walls. We cannot talk about the dimensions of the older building but it is obvious that its foundations were made of broken limestone. The demolition of the older building occurred at the end of the 1st Century AD which was confirmed by coins. Building IX can be perceived well, although it hasn’t been fully investigated yet. The structure covers a space of over than 2000 m2. There was atrium in the central part with probable dimensions of 25 x 25 m. From the western and southern side of the atrium there was a line of several insulae and a wide portico. There were three wide entrances from the main street (width of 220-250 cm) into the atrium space. One could enter through one entrance from the western side while the northern and eastern sides were still not defined. The excavation of room 3/IX gives us the most data about the intensive life in building IX. In this room, occupation took place in at least four stages that can be traced on the base of construction works. Unfortunately, it is still difficult to talk about the chronology of these stages. The coins on the floor of this room testify that occupation took place at the end of the second and during the third century. The pit found in this room has significant importance, because it may represent hiding place where a scared craftsman put his iron ax that he used for stone treatment. Beside that tool, he put several coins of which two were made of silver. On the face of one coin is represented woman with the inscription IVLIA MAESA AVG (218-222).
      • In the fall of 2010, a Public institution Museums and Galleries of Podgorica carried out archaeological research at the Doclea site. These researches completely revealed the preserved above-ground construction of the capitoline temple. On the west side, its foundation was partially discovered. It was determined that the rear part of the stylobate (northern), at least on the western side, rests on a deeply buried foundation wall formed of faced stone whose height is about 1.7 m. In the north-western part, the height of the temple is the highest, so together with the part of the north wall of the cella, it is about 1.5 m. It is evident that the facade of the temple with the southern third of the cella with its plinth rests on the intact, original ground, which is elevated by about 1 m above the rest of the space, e.g. the decumanus . The courtyard (atrium) was entered from three sides (east, west and south). The entrances from the south, from the main street, were primary and most luxurious. It is evident that all entrances were reconstructed at various stages, closed or narrowed, which makes it considerably difficult to create a complete picture of the original appearance of the portico. The courtyard is almost square in shape, measuring 21x22 m. Most of the courtyard was paved with treated stone slabs, mostly rectangular in shape, of which those placed along the perimeter of the pavement are somewhat narrower and a deeper drainage channel is finely carved in them. By contrasting them, a rectangular free space was formed, which most likely served as the base of the altar in front of the temple. The sidewalk extends from the temple steps to the south. Its maximum length is about 15 m, and width (east-west direction) about 10 m. In the north, the sidewalk was limited by a wall, probably a boundary, on which we found a less finely worked pillar on the east side of the cella. The wall extends in an east-west direction in relation to the cella and is built of faced stone, and in some places there are preserved remains of painted plaster. The temple was built in the central part of the sanctuary which is not yet fully defined and its dimensions are approximately 50 m. Along the Decumanus (east-west), while to the north (the cella is not defined) it reaches a length of 40 m. The central space is accessed from the west and south, and probably from the east. It defines a series of rooms with a porch facing the streets. The rooms and porch on the west side are mostly destroyed and can be seen mostly in the foundation zone, while a number of rooms on the south side represent parts of the former spacious portico which in later stages underwent many alterations and changed its primary role. The porches were about 3.2 m wide, and the rooms next to them about 7 m. The faced stone walls are connected with mortar in regular courses 0.5 m high, and have been preserved to a maximum height of about 1 m. Considering the quality of the masonry, it is easy to see the places where the rebuilding and "patching" were done. The interior walls of these rooms as well as the walls of the atrium were painted, and numerous fragments of painted plaster were found next to them in the layer of construction rubble. On some walls, and especially on the north and north-east walls of the atrium, a layer of decorated plaster has been preserved in the lower zones, which is in a very friable condition. Attempts to preserve the mortar in larger pieces or in situ have not been successful. The stylobate was mostly destroyed and consisted of a plinth on which a profiled foot rested and an orthostat built of large stone blocks of unequal dimensions. The core of the podium, the space between the rectangular construction of the orthostats, was filled exclusively with river pebbles connected with lime mortar, thus forming the base of the cella or nave. It is obvious that these pebbles originate from the Morača riverbed. The cella formed in this way had a rectangular base measuring about 7x9.5 m. The floor is made of mortar about 0.06 m thick, and on it, in the northern part along the northern wall of the cella, smaller zones of the mosaic floor have been preserved. The preserved parts of the mosaic floor are decorated mainly with white and black tessera in the form of a geometric motif. The first zone of the north wall of the cella has been preserved in the north-west corner, and judging by the numerous finds of small colored fragments of plaster, this wall was painted. The cella was dug up in several places, it is easy to see the places where the violent destruction was carried out. Most likely, these are attempts to discover a possible crypt of the temple.. We emptied one of the observed pits and it was about 1.5 m deep. The obtained profiles showed that the base of the cella was completely formed of pebbles. The facade of the temple, the pronaos and the staircase have not been preserved, so it is difficult to draw adequate conclusions at this time. Based on the remains of the lower foundation zone of the stylobate, the dimensions of the temple can be assumed to be approx. 7 x 14.5 m. At the position from which the staircase should start, a larger quantity of fragments of the architrave beam and the gable of the temple were found. Both side acroteria were found, of which the one located on the southwest corner of the temple is completely preserved. The central acroterion was broken and a small part of it was found. All three acroteria were carefully decorated in the form of a central rosette with acanthus leaves. One larger stone fragment resembles the western "half" of the gable, which has no decoration. During the research conducted in the fall of 2009. on the southwest side near the temple a part of the Corinthian capital was found, so it might be supposed that the pillars of the temple were carved in the Corinthian style.
      • During the period from March 1st to March 10th 2012, a topographical survey was carried out with the aim of recording the wall remains and visible architectural objects of ancient Doclea. The field work also consisted of recording the preserved sections of the wall and registering these with geopositioning. The interpretation of the received data was presented as an article in the Collection of New Ancient Doclea III. The goal of the survey was to create a unique site map, so that the exact proportions could be viewed and the area of Doclea city could be calculated. The necessity of this recording lies in the fact that the last urban map of Doclea was done in the beginning of the 20th century and published in P. Sticotti’s work of 1912. During the field work, over 1000 points were collected using a total station TCR407. For the starting geo-reference points, the points set up by the Montenegro Railways were taken and used as stations for recording the whole wall. The main project was focused on the wall, which is poorly preserved. Also, the visible, conserved structures in the surrounded space were recorded: the forum, the civic basilica, the large and small thermal springs and the capitoline temple. After field work, there was computer data processing. On the new plan, the current status of the structures was recorded: some buildings such as capitoline temple being incorporated for the first time into the Doclea urban plan. With the use of Sticotti’s plan, based on the oriented points which were taken in the field for some structures, additional buildings recorded at the end of 19th century were included in the plan. Many of these structures are in ruins today, or covered with the material used for the railway. The result was the reconstruction of the city plan, with possible mistakes regarding parts of the wall, which was badly destroyed, and those objects whose position was no longer visible in the field, and for which it was not possible to recover the orientation.
      • The i Archaeological excavations at the Doclea site were conducted between June 24 and July 21, 2017. The excavation of the 12 / IX room (dimensions 14.6 x 6m) that is located east of the temple complex, which started with the research of the previous year, has continued. The research of layers whose age can be determined in late antiquity, probably the 4th century, when rooms around the temple, even this 12 / IX, get a different purpose and most likely serve as workshops for making glass items. The late antique phase of life in this space corresponds to the tiled under the found in the northeast corner of the room (Figure 2), the foundation of the glass furnace in the southeast corner, as well as the mortar surface, or the remains of the former mortar floor that were discovered in some parts of the room. The richest layer of archaeological material is a layer of SJ 10037, in which a plethora of ceramics, glass, bones and as well as plenty of bronze coins, bone needles and sturdy bracelets and rings. The entire layer is likely to be the fork of the earth when the floors of the chamber have been devastated or when life has ceased in this area. Nothing less rich in material is also a layer below the previous one, which is kept under the number 10 053. Findings of coins in it are very numerous and different dating between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Of the other archaeological findings, a bone-dice game should be made. This layer represents the leveling of the terrain that followed immediately before building the workshop. On that occasion, several layers were deposited in the JI corner of the room, from which the almost preserved preserved stone pillar was extracted. s no summary for this season.
      • Excavations in probes 11 and 12 explored the parts of the ramparts. The construction of the ramparts is the largest construction activity that has completely changed the city's concept and life in it. For a long time it was considered that the rampart was simultaneous with monumental buildings of public character in the center of the city, or that its construction was bound for the end of the I / the beginning of the 2nd century. Last year's research refuted these theses, but we determined only relative dates, while this year we confirmed the date of the first half of the 4th century when the city walls were erected. In front of the ramparts at the tower C there is a spacious plane above the Širalija stream, which was the reason for building a rectangular tower and digging the defensive trench in front of it. The tower is in the lower part of the building, using large stone blocks placed in three rows to be overwhelmed over them by the use of sewn stone and lime mortar. Unfortunately the foundations of the towers are underlined in this place by erosion and its SI corner is devastated by a shell from one of the World Wars. This sort of situation forced us to bring the destabilized foundations through the borders and clutter up and thus consolidate to the realization of its conservation. In the center of the ancient city, research was carried out in three places. Within 10 rooms there is a room known as a male termae. In the researches after the Second World War, a mosaic was discovered in this room, which was, unfortunately, completely destroyed and the only one left behind was the bordering the southern part of the room. However, the research has shown significant data regarding the relationship of a building with large topics. The building was built separately from the termae and it was not excluded that it did not have a bath function at all. Based on the findings of the museum from old research, the date of construction should probably be tied to the period of late antiquity. At object IX, the capitol temple of Doclea, was explored in two places in the atrium, where the older phases of the object from the 2nd century were registered. It consists of the remains of several rooms that were separated by partition walls. This building was destroyed in the fire and a temple was built on its site, using some of the older walls. The main street decumanus is cut between objects X and IX. Three phases of the street were discovered in the 4-mile long longitude of 15 m. The first street dating back to the 1st century was poured about half a meter late in the same century in order to build a new one. This phase corresponds to the construction and other facilities in the center when the city gets the status of the municipium. Then, for some reason, the street is shortened by 5 m. In the 4th century there is another rise in street level. However, this is only done with the accumulated land. In the south and southwestern parts of Doclea, they continued their studies in the same places where they started last year. From the north side of the decumanus street, the dimensions of the new facility numbered XVII are captured. This is a late antique villa urban, from which only one exedra room was explored last year, in fact a guest room with underfloor heating. Most of the building was devastated by the construction of a railway line, and the floor levels were largely destroyed. The probe 13 was reopened in the southern part of the city. It was confirmed only SI corner of the room which can be given in the third century according to the findings. Stratigraphic image in the probe is extremely simple, but for the first time in Doclea, at the level of the floor, the entire vessel is discovered. Although prematurely, for now, we assume that this is a residential area or part of insula. Another important discovery was revealed in the probe. This space was inhabited in prehistoric times. Namely, under the Roman layers and horizons, the finds of the town's ceramics are most likely to be given during the Bronze Age. They are connected with the remains of semi-dyed houses whose walls were made of platelets and beautiful. Such settlements are extremely rare, which makes this data even more valuable. e is no summary for this season.
      • Archaeological research at the site Doclea was carried out between 28 May and 22 June 2018. It was continued with the excavation of the 12 / IX room (dimension 14,6 x 6 m) located east of the temple complex, which was started by research two years earlier. The age of the room is determined by the large number of discovered money that is clearly housed in late antiquity in the first half of the 4th century. The assumptions regarding its use are connected with the workshop in which the glass products were made / sold. The late antique phase of life in this area corresponds to the tiled under the uncovered in the northeast corner of the room, the foundation of the glass furnace in the southeast corner, as well as the mortar surface, or the remains of the former mortar floor that were discovered in some parts of the room. This year's campaign ended with the exploration of its late antique horizon. The research involved the excavation of the dark-brown layer, which is led under the number 10 053. Findings of money in it are very numerous and vary in dating between the 1st and 4th centuries. This layer represents the leveling of the terrain that followed immediately before building the workshop. Construction times also belong to several creak or areas where the mortar was mixed as well as the larger pit (SJ 10 055) in which the lime was extinguished. Another stratigraphic entity discovered in this room represents a larger 2m pit waste pit, where a large amount of kitchen utensils and animal bones were thrown. In the greater part of the room it reached the Roman layer from the 2nd century, whose future excavations show the relationship with the late antique horizon. Of the other movable findings from room 12 / IX, besides the mentioned money, silver ring, bronze whole fibula, bone needles and stylus should be extracted. In addition to the room 12/13, the research of the western part of the room 13 / IX (dimension 11 x 8m) was started, which is located immediately east. The surface layers were removed in the entire surface of the room, with a layer of ruined roof and a large entrance (width 2, 90m) from the main city street cardo maximus. The room on the west side was divided into two chambers. In the southern section, a floor was discovered under which a mosaic of open dimensions of 3,30 x 1,50m was incorporated. The mosaic is decorated in the spirit of late antiquity, divided by geometric motifs and fields and braids in colors of black, white, red, pink, green. Findings discovered directly on the floor testify that this room was also used in the first half of the 4th century. In the northern chamber was also discovered under which was made in mixed technique using plaster and bricks. However, the floor is broken in the southern part and destroyed by the burial of the SJ 10063 layer. In this layer, a stretcher of 91 coins was discovered in a forging show from Constantine I to Valentine II. In addition to Roman money, the pantry contained a smaller number of finds of iron and bronze, among which a knife of larger dimensions, parts of locks and links and parts of jewelry were pointed out. The is no summary for this season.

    Bibliography

      • S. Hay, S. Kay, L. Pett, 2008, Geophysics at Doclea (Montenegro). Poster presented at International Congress of Classical Archaeology - XVII. Meetings Between Cultures in the Ancient Mediterranean, 22-26 September 2008, Rome.
      • J.A.R. Munro, W.C.F. Anderson, J.G. Milne, F. Haverfield, 1894, On The Roman Town Of Doclea, in Montenegro in Archaeologia LV: 33-92.
      • P. Sticotti, 1913, Die römische Stadt Doclea in Montenegro, Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Schriften der Balkankommission, Antiquarische Abteilung 6, Wien.