Villa Armira
The villa Armira ( Bulgarian Вила Армира ) is a suburban, ancient Roman Villa ( cottage, villa rustica) in South-East Bulgaria. It is one of the most remarkable Roman villas in the Roman province of Thrace and is located approximately 2 km south of Ivaylovgrad in the province Haskovo. Found in the villa diverse mosaic floors with intricate geometric, vegetal, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic motifs represent the largest fund of its kind in Bulgaria, the (now Devnya ) is at most comparable with the floor mosaics in Marcianopolis. Today the villa under the name of Villa Armira is known by the name of the little river Armira (also called Aterenska reka - Bulg Атеренска река ) is derived, on the banks of the villa is located. The river is a tributary of the Arda Armira, which in turn is a tributary of the Maritsa. The villa Armira is now classified as a cultural monument of national importance.
Discovery
The villa was accidentally discovered in 1964 by workers during the construction of a small dam. The location of the villa at the foot of a small overhang it was completely covered by the earth down flushed and remained so undiscovered for centuries. The development of a small dam ( "micro- dam " ) was discontinued after the discovery temporarily. Archaeological excavations made it clear then that it was the remains of a suburban villa of the period of the Roman Empire. Initially the plan was to recover the remains, which is why you all fixed floor mosaics with a special technique through an injected under concrete slab in larger pieces. Ultimately, the decision was made then but the finds at the site to leave and set up a museum on site. The development of a small dam in this small valley was finally abandoned. The already completed water intake tower of concrete in the dam still stands today near the museum.
The villa has been reconstructed with the help of funding from the European Union PHARE program and partially rebuilt ( Anastylosis ) and opened for visitors in 2008.
History
The villa was built in the second half of the 1st century (between 50 and 70 AD ), shortly after the founding of the Roman province of Thrace 46 AD Originally the villa belonged to a Thracian aristocrat in Roman service, probably the governor the environment was.
At the beginning of the 2nd century the villa was set up right on the building site, a workshop for artistic work and Marble work to build, the white marble for this was obtained directly in the area. The Steinhauer for this work were taken from the Asia Minor city of Aphrodisias, which was known in Roman times for its school of sculpture.
The villa Armira was inhabited until the late 4th century. Their destruction was related to the great devastation of the region of Hadrianopolis in the year 378 - during the second war of the Romans against the Goths. 378 were defeated at the Battle of Adrian Opel under Emperor Valens by the Goths, the Romans there. The Emperor was wounded during the battle and carried by his soldiers to a villa near the battlefield ( The villa Armira located 40 km west of Hadrian Opel ). Then, however, the Goths discovered the retreat of the wounded emperor. They took the villa and burned it down and killed the emperor. It is possible that these events contributed to the Villa Armira. However, only certain thing is that the villa burned down around this time.
Description
The villa is located on 200 m altitude, at the southern foot of a 300 m high mountain. The front of the villa is south facing. There, on the eastern foothills of the Eastern Rhodopes (also known in Roman times Arpsos - Bulg Арпезос ), the flat, only slightly undulating mountains turns into a plain that extends to the east, through these levels flows Arda east to 40 km remote Erdirne.
The villa is a large complex of residential buildings and agricultural buildings. The two-story U- shaped building has a floor area of 3,600 m², surrounded by a garden. Of the residential buildings occupy an area of 978 m², including when a larger courtyard with surrounding colonnade ( peristyle ) that a pool of water ( Impluvium - 11 x 7 m, nearly 2 m deep) surrounding it. The living spaces are arranged around a courtyard - dining room, living room, bedroom, bathroom. It was heated by floor heating ( hypocaust ), the bottom plates were on small brick pillars between which flowed through by a fire heated air.
The villa had 22 separate rooms on the ground floor and also a panoramic terrace. The whole floor was covered with ornate white marble.
The floor mosaics show typical motifs of ancient Roman art. The mosaics in the room of the landlord ( dominus ) put the home side is who owned the villa in the 2nd century, and his two children. Those are the only discovered in Bulgaria mosaic portraits from the Roman era.
A common and recurring theme in the decoration of the villa is the Gorgon Medusa. In the 3rd century the villa through the cultivation of a Empfangssalls / dining room was ( triclinium, 11,70 x 10,90 m), extended with associated ancillary rooms for the service and a floor heating ( hypocaust ) to the east, as the villa in the course of time to had become small for its inhabitants. So the building was converted into a palace villa.
The portrait of the landlord and his two children from the 2nd century are on display at the National History Museum in Sofia. The ceramic finds can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia. Copies of the marble decoration are exhibited in the Regional Historical Museum Kardzhali.
During the excavations well-preserved floor mosaics were discovered with figurative and geometric motifs, as well as capitals, broken (à jour) parapets in marble in grid form which surrounded the pool of water, pillars with attached head ( Hermen ), fragments of columns, pilasters and marble ornaments and - facings. Many pottery, jewelery and items of daily use were found.
To the water basin, a portico with columns running in the Corinthian style, along the wall of the portico is decorated with pilasters and friezes.
The villa is befitting decorated with mosaic floors in all rooms. Ornaments and rich marble decorations, as well as a coat of paint. In this respect, the villa is the most spectacular of all known up to now similar buildings on the territory of the Roman province of Thrace. Building with marble cladding are similar ( 1st to 5th century) rarely found in the provinces of the Roman Empire. Particularly important is the fact that the well-preserved state of the decorative elements practically permitted the complete restoration of the building's interior.
Because of the subsidence in the adjacent farm buildings they were in a worse condition. The complex economy should enable the agricultural use of the villa's fields, the storage of agricultural equipment and agricultural products and their processing in these farm buildings. However, there is no concrete data on the villa belonging to the agricultural sector.
Family Necropolis
Near the Villa Armira, in the area of the present village Swiratschi ( Bulg Свирачи ) is an ancient grave mound ( tumulus mound grave = ) (41 ° 28 ' 52 "N, 26 ° 7' 12" O41.48111111111126.12 ), heaped on a stone foundation. This necropolis was in use during the Roman era, more specifically during the early reign period of Emperor Trajan ( 97-117 ).
Probably the Villa Armira was the necropolis, 2,3 km as the crow the southeast, used as a family grave for the owner of the villa Armira. The heaped on the grave grave mound is approximately 16 meters high. The landfill is located on a massive stone construction of approximately 200 meters in length, around the base of the hill.
On the territory of present-day Bulgaria, there is no analogous construction for this grave mound from the early Roman period. On the basis of this complicated ( stylobate ) of quarry stone and mortar, a stone cladding was installed. The whole construction was followed obviously a preconceived architectural plan. The blocks of the lining have a length of up to 3.70 meters, and each is formed arcuately on the outside. They are arranged stepwise in 10 rows. The connection between them was achieved through massive iron clamps that were soldered with lead. The grave mound is heaped on numerous smaller tombs; to the earth was taken from the environment. In the heaped earth, there are also prehistoric materials, they are probably from a nearby settlement.