Antinous the Good in Municipium DD in Moesia Superior

The aim of this text is to present two identical anthropomorphic pottery vessels (flagons), discovered in the southeastern Scupi necropolis, whose recipients are shaped like three-dimensional human heads, i.e. busts. This specific type of pottery vessel, which is referred to academically as vessel with a head-shape (head-pot), is a result of production by or influence of the Mediterranean pottery centres, which have a long tradition of manufacturing them. The occurrence of two almost identical vessels (in terms of dimensions, technology and iconography) is very rare and suggests one and the same production centre and an identical chronology. The analysis of the iconography and the portrait features (the specific hairdo with tousled curls and pronounced classicistic expression) allows the depicted image to be identified as Antinous, the deified favourite of Hadrian. An attempt has been made to answer some of the questions regarding the occurrence, the chronology, and the direction of spread of the cult of Antinous in Scupi. Special attention has been paid to determining the possible origin, the associated beliefs, the professional and social status of its members, the scope of acceptance, the manner of practicing the cult, etc. Апстракт Целта на овој текст е да се претстават два идентични антропоморфни садови (бокали) откриени во Југоисточната некропола на Скупи, чии реципиенти се обликувани како тродимензионални човечки глави, т.е. бисти. Овој специфичен вид керамички садови, кои во науката се познати како садови во форма на глава, се резултат на производството или влијанието на медитерански керамички центри каде имаат долга традиција на изработка. Појавата на два речиси идентични сада (во однос на димензии, технологија и иконографија) е мошне ретка и упатува на ист продукциски центар и идентична хронологија. Анализата на иконографијата и на портретните особености (карактеристичната фризура со кадрави прамени и нагласениот класицистички израз) упатуваат дека претставениот лик треба да се идентификува со Антиној, деифицираниот миленик на Хадријан. Направен е обид да се одговори на некои од прашањата во однос на појавата, хронологијата и правците на продор на култот на Антиној во Скупи. Особено е посветено внимание во определувањето на можното потекло, поврзаните верувања, професионалниот и социјалниот статус на членовите, начинот на прифаќање и практицирање на култот итн.

Classical Review 63(2) (2013), 581-582, 2013

ACTUM ATQUE TRACTATUM, Novae.Studies and Materials, vol.VIII, In Memoriam Maria Chichikova, 2022

Abstract The subject of the chapter is a history of the 60-years of research in the Roman military camp and EarlyByzantine city of Novae conducted by scientists from Adam Mickiewicz University. The former Roman legionary camp and Early-Byzantine town of Novae is located 4 km east of the present city of Svištov (northwestern Bulgaria, the Roman province of Moesia), on a steep cliff on the bank of the Danube. In the spring of 1960, this area was selected as the site of long-term Polish-Bulgarian archaeological studies following a scrutiny of written sources and surface finds by two Polish scholars: Prof. Kazimierz Majewski of the University of Warsaw, Associate Prof. Stefan Parnicki-Pudełko, Ph.D., of the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań, and Prof. Dimităr Dimitrov of Bulgarian Academia of Science. Keywords: Novae, Roman legionary camp, Early-Byzantine town, research, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas im Kontext spätantiker Memorialkultur, 2019

This paper tries to understand the extraordinary preservation of ancient Miletus throughout the early Byzantine period. The preservation was not due to abandonment or neglect but to intentional conservation. This qualifies as Byzantine antiquarianism, appears to have been unrelated to paganism, and was practised by Christians. Comparison with similarly well-preserved ancient cityscapes at Aphrodisias and Ephesus suggests that Byzantine antiquarianism was inspired by the ancient monuments themselves, because they continued to distinguish old cities even after their former privileges had been abolished by Byzantine administration. Other Byzantine settlements elsewhere in Anatolia lacked ancient monuments and displayed no antiquarian tendencies. Conversely, a focus on the preservation of ancient cityscapes may also explain why western Asia Minor as the most urbanised part of the region did not develop a Byzantine architectural style of its own.