Mednarodni simpozij ob 100-letnici rojstva Jaroslava Šašla THE ROMAN PERIOD AND THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES IN THE EASTERN ALPS, NORTHERN ITALY, AND THE WESTERN BALKANS International symposium on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Jaroslav Šašel (1924–1988) Ljubljana (Slovenija), 5.–6. septembra 2024 Ljubljana (Slovenia), September 5th–6th 2024 THE ROMAN PERIOD AND THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES IN THE EASTERN ALPS, NORTHERN ITALY, AND THE WESTERN BALKANS Mednarodni simpozij ob 100-letnici rojstva Jaroslava Šašla International symposium on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Jaroslav Šašel (1924–1988) Zbornik povzetkov Book of abstracts Uredniki: Jana Horvat – SAZU Ljubljana, ZRC SAZU – Inštitut za arheologijo Milan Lovenjak – Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za zgodovino Alenka Cedilnik – Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za zgodovino Andrej Gaspari – Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za arheologijo Prelom: Jure Preglau Fotografija na naslovnici: Rimski triumf (https://picryl.com) Založila: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani Za založbo: Gregor Majdič, rektor Univerze v Ljubljani Izdala: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani Za izdajatelja: Mojca Schlamberger Brezar, dekanja Filozofske fakultete Prva e-izdaja. Publikacija je v digitalni obliki prosto dostopna na https://ebooks.uni-lj.si/ZalozbaUL Ljubljana, 2024 Simpozij je organiziran v okviru raziskovalnih programov Arheološke raziskave (P6-0064), Arheologija (P6-0247) in Slovenska zgodovina (P6-0235), ki jih financira Agencija za znanstvenoraziskovalno in inovacijsko dejavnost RS (ARIS) iz državnega proračuna. Kataložni zapis o publikaciji (CIP) pripravili v Narodni in univerzitetni knjižnici v Ljubljani COBISS.SI-ID 206368515 ISBN 978-961-297-388-9 (PDF) Mednarodni simpozij ob 100-letnici rojstva Jaroslava Šašla THE ROMAN PERIOD AND THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES IN THE EASTERN ALPS, NORTHERN ITALY, AND THE WESTERN BALKANS International symposium on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Jaroslav Šašel (1924–1988) Ljubljana (Slovenija), 5.–6. septembra 2024 Ljubljana (Slovenia), September 5th–6th 2024 Zbornik povzetkov Book of abstracts Uredili: Jana Horvat, Milan Lovenjak, Alenka Cedilnik, Andrej Gaspari Dvorana SAZU, Novi trg 3, Ljubljana PROGRAM Thursday, September 5, 2024 8.30 Registration 9.00–9.20 Greeting words and introduction 9.20–9.45 Feđa Milivojević, From ephemerality to permanence: lex Vatinia and the creation of the province of Illyricum 9.45–10.10 Renate Lafer, Spectacula und private Munifizenz in der epigraphischen Dokumentation Oberitaliens – einige Überlegungen zur Finanzierung von Spielen und den dafür vorgesehenen Spiel- und Sportstätten 10.10–10.35 Amra Šačić Beća, Administrative organization of Roman silver mines in Pannonia 10.35–11.00 Reinhold Wedenig, New epigraphic evidence concerning onomastics in the area of Noricum and Austria 11.00–11.20 Coffee break 11.20–11.45 Robert Matijašić, The Calpurnii Pisones in Istria and Liburnia 11.45–12.10 Andrej Gaspari, Žan Špendal, Tombstone for Lucius Obulsius, veteran of legio XV Apollinaris from the northern necropolis of Emona 12.10–12.35 Anja Ragolič, Theta nigrum, … quae mortem [significat]. Geographical distribution and onomastic analysis of the accompanying names on the funerary inscriptions in the south-eastern Alps 12.35–13.00 Milan Lovenjak, Boštjan Laharnar, Inscribed Roman bronze tablets discovered in Slovenia 13.00–14.30 Lunch break 14.30–14.55 Julijana Visočnik, Janez Žiga Valentin Popovič (1705–1774) and Peter Fendi (1796–1842) and their contribution to the study of Celeia 14.55–15.20 Inga Vilogorac Brčić, Isis and Serapis in Poetovio 15.20–15.45 Aleksandra Nestorović, Roman villa with a private Mithraeum? 15.45–16.15 Coffee break 5 16.15–16.40 Bojan Djurić, Ariadne at St Margaret’s and the promise of a new life 16.40–17.05 Stefano Magnani, Dangers of traveling in the Alpine regions in Roman times: the epigraphic documentation 17.05–17.30 Jana Horvat, The route along the rivers Nadiža (Natisone) and Soča Friday, September 5, 2024 9.00–9.25 Alenka Cedilnik, Theodorus, bishop of Heraclea in Thrace, in the service of Constantinople 9.25–9.50 Jan Dominik Bogataj, Miran Špelič, The cradle of Latin patristic exegesis (Victorinus, Fortunatianus, Hieronymus) 9.50–10.15 Aleš Maver, Civil war as punishment?: Constantius II in the Latin Christian Historiography of the 4th and 5th Centuries 10.15–10.40 Matej Petrič, The battle of Frigidus in the context of Rufinus’ Church History 10.40–11.10 Coffee break 11.10–11.35 Slavko Ciglenečki, The transformation of late Roman military fortifications and fortifying of the north-eastern border of Italy 11.35–12.00 Ana Kovačič, Glass from the late Roman fortress Castra (Slovenia) 12.00–12.25 Ana Kruh, Andrej Šemrov, Roman finds from the slope of Gora east of Ajdovščina (Castra) 12.25–12.50 Vesna Tratnik, Janka Istenič, Late Roman conflict landscape near Ajdovščina (Castra) 12.50–14.30 Lunch break 14.30–14.55 Hrvoje Gračanin, Jaroslav Šašel’s Antiqui Barbari half a century later 14.55–15.20 Zvezdana Modrijan, Carnium and Carneola – Anonymous Ravennate and archaeological research in recent decades 15.20–15.45 Aljaž Sekne, Martin of Braga as a source for the history of the Slavs in Pannonia 15.45–16.10 Tina Milavec, Defense of the eastern border of northern Italy in the early Middle Ages 16.15–16.30 Conluding remarks 16.30 Visit of the National Museum of Slovenia and the Roman lapidarium Povzetki Abstracts Feđa Milivojević From ephemerality to permanence: lex Vatinia and the creation of the province of Illyricum In 59 BC, a tribune of the people, Publius Vatinius, proposed and passed a law in the assembly granting Caesar Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum as his provinces for a period of five years. This law, commonly referred to as the lex Vatinia de Caesaris provincia, raised doubts in the scholarly community as to whether Illyricum was created as a permanent province of the Roman world. The prevailing opinion favours a negative approach and states that Caesar’s Illyricum was not administratively organized, it was far from being conquered and pacified, it had no standing army, and it was not adminis-tered separately from Cisalpine Gaul and Macedonia, and therefore cannot be considered a province in the proper sense of the word until Augustus. However, recent research suggests that the process of forming provinces in the late Republic was much more complex than previously assumed. It was subject to various factors related to the regions of the Mediterranean, while the transformation of an area into a functional province was not strictly uniform and depended on the administrative organization and the state of conquest. With that in mind, this paper aims to shed new light on these issues, focussing on Illyricum and its late republican transformation from an ephemeral, traditional province into a more permanent one. 8 Renate Lafer Spectacula and private munificence in the epigraphic documentation of northern Italy – some considerations on the financing of games and the gaming and sports facilities intended for them Numerous remains of theatre buildings as well as evidence of amphitheatres and circuses indicate a lively entertainment culture in the cities of northern Italy. However, there is only a small amount of evidence of maintenance measures and the organization of games by the municipal aristocracy, although it sometimes exist in large quantities in other Italian regions or Roman provinces. This evidence will be discussed during the lecture. 9 Amra Šačić Beća Administrative organization of Roman silver mines in Pannonia Recently discovered traces of Roman gold mines in Lower Austria suggest that there were more mining activities in Pannonia than indicated by Roman sources. Interestingly, all Pannonian mines are located in border areas between Roman provinces. This certainly influenced the research into Pannonian mining districts since their administrative organization was not researched separately. Therefore, modern literature mostly associates the Pannonian silver mines and their administration with the Dalmatian silver mines, whose centre was in the vicinity of Srebrenica. However, until AD 161 they were mentioned separately in inscriptions as argentariae Pannonicae and argentariae Delmaticae. The inscriptions mentioning the Pannonian silver mine procurators were discovered in modern Algeria, Türkiye, and Serbia. Argentariae Pannonicae encompassed quite a large territory from the lower course of the Drina River (to the north of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina) and a part of northwest Serbia (modern Zaječar, Valjevo, and Loznica). It is assumed that the local mining administration for Pannonian silver mines was located in Gensis ( Tab. Peut.) vicus in the modern Mačva District in Serbia. Inscriptions on epigraphic monuments suggest that the top-level mining administration was stationed in Sirmium until AD 161, after which it was relocated to Domavia. Under Marcus Aurelius, all Pannonian and Dalmatian mines were consolidated under the procurator metal orum Pannonicorum et Dalmaticorum. Under Commodus, Pannonian iron mines were exempted from this consolidated administration, whereas silver mines remained under the authority of a procurator from Domavia titled procurator argentariarum metallorum Pannonicorum et Dalmaticorum. Inscriptions from the 3rd century mention procurator Augusti and procurator argentariarum, opening the question of the local administration of Pannonian mines. Certain administrative changes can be traced back to Late Antiquity, when comes metallorum per Illyricum was mentioned in Notitia Dignitatum. 10 Reinhold Wedenig New epigraphic evidence concerning onomastics in the area of Noricum and Austria Jaro Šašel’s fundamental studies on Roman personal names in the Adriatic, Eastern Alpine and Pannonian regions have not lost their relevance. Nowadays, several compendia and databases facilitate access to the inscribed name material. In addition, more recent finds and publications have enriched our knowledge of Roman personal names in Austria, in particular works by M. Hainzmann, P. Scherrer and E. Weber. In contrast to the Roman monumental inscriptions on stone from Austria, the names from the small inscriptions (of a private, domestic or commercial nature) have not yet been systema-tically documented. Therefore, the paper will focus on several instrumenta inscripta from the speaker’s field of work. A selection of personal names of Celtic (e.g. Banona) or Latin origin (e.g. Calandinus) on different writing media, including new finds from Austria, will be presented. Their dating is usually based on the archaeological context of the inscribed objects, and rarely on palaeographical factors. Compared to the section of monumental inscriptions, the instrumenta inscripta provide a smaller number and variety of personal names. Nevertheless, individual name references and narrower dating approaches do contribute to a distinctive view of regional name distributions. 11 Robert Matijašić The Calpurnii Pisones in Istria and Liburnia Among the prosopographical issues addressed by Jaroslav Šašel in a series of contributions in journals and collected papers, an important place is occupied by the text on the Calpurnii Pisones and the inscription of Calpurnia from the island of Pag. Given the new epigraphic findings and the epigraphic material about the family in Istria, including the Calpurnius who was a duumvir coloniae deducendae in Pola, the status quaestionis will be summarised. 12 Andrej Gaspari, Žan Špendal Tombstone for Lucius Obulsius, veteran of legio XV Apollinaris from the northern necropolis of Emona The contribution presents the tombstone for a veteran of legio XV Apollinaris that was unearthed in November 2017 during rescue excavations in the street of Gosposvetska cesta in Ljubljana. The tombstone of local Lower Jurassic limestone was reused as the cover of a masonry tomb in the Late Roman cemeterial complex in the broader area of the northern necropolis of Emona. Originally, it must have stood directly at the via publica Emona - Celeia. Its inscription reveals it was erected for Lucius Obulsius, son of Lucius, of the Camilian voting-tribe, whose home was in Pisaurum on the west coast of the northern Adriatic, that he was a veteran of legio XV Apollinaris who died at the age of 60 and had it put up according to his will. The simple rectangular shape of the slab devoid of any decoration, the shape and carving technique/ cross-section of the letters are all characteristic of the Augustan period, while broader considerations suggest an even narrower date, to the Late Augustan or Early Tiberian period (roughly AD 5/10–20/25). The inscription is another piece of epigraphic evidence on the soldiers of legio XV Apollinaris from Emona. It is particularly important because it is likely connected with the beginnings of burial along Emona’s northbound road predating the end of construction of the walled town in AD 14/15. The (partially supplemented) information on the findspots of other tombstones erected for the members of Illyrian army units, which were deployed to the area of the Ljubljana Gate in the time between the Pannonian Wars and Augustus’ death, allow for the possibility that they were all originally erected along Emona’s arteries. 13 Anja Ragolič Theta nigrum, … quae mortem [significat]. Geographical distribution and onomastic analysis of the accompanying names on the funerary inscriptions in the south-eastern Alps Theta nigrum, an abbreviation for obitus/obita/obiit, is a funerary formula typical for the Regio Decima, Pannonia Superior and Noricum. As the geographic distribution shows, it seems to be associated with the peregrine community in the hinterland of the autonomous towns of Emona, Celeia, Poetovio and Neviodunum. The aim of the paper is an onomastic analysis to confirm or refute the above hypothesis. In the second step a (potential) comparison will be made with Italy (Rome) and Gaul, where the use of theta on tombstones is attested one or two centuries earlier. 14 Milan Lovenjak, Boštjan Laharnar Inscribed Roman bronze tablets discovered in Slovenia The contribution discusses fragments of bronze tablets discovered at various hillforts in the Notranjska region (SW Slovenia) and during excavations at Vičava in Ptuj (Roman Poetovio). The fragments from Notranjska have preserved only a few characters, with one example from Gradišče above Gornja Košana bearing part of the name of the Batavi. This might suggest a mention of an auxiliary unit and thus be part of a Roman military diploma. The finding is significant in the context of the phenomenon of the continued occupation of prehistoric hillforts into the Roman period and raises interesting questions related to the recruitment of auxiliary units and the return of veterans after their discharge from the Roman army. At Vičava in Ptuj, a fragment of a military diploma with the name of the provincial governor Iulius Candidus was discovered. 15 Julijana Visočnik Janez Žiga Valentin Popovič (1705–1774) and Peter Fendi (1796–1842) and their contribution to the study of Celeia The study of Roman period cannot be imagined without written sources, both those that originated from Roman times and those that have been used and published since the Renaissance onwards. This is particularly true for epigraphic and anepigraphic Roman monuments, some of which have survived to the present day, others are known only through these early publications. The importance of the first publication of a monument is certainly undeniable, even though it often does not yield much about findspot data. All subsequent publications are no less important, since each one can shed additional light on the events in those times or give us a more detailed insight into the life story of a particular monument and its secondary use. Just as books are said to have their own fate, the same is true with stone monuments: et saxa habent sua fata. This paper will thus present two lesser-known authors and their work, which, from the above-mentioned point of view, may shed some light on Celeia and some of its monuments. The author will draw attention to Popović’s Untersu-chungen vom Meere (1750), in which one would not expect to find records of the ancient monuments of Celeia, and to a sketchbook by the Viennese court painter Peter Fendi. 16 Inga Vilogorac Brčić Isis and Serapis in Poetovio The cults of Isis and Serapis were attested in the Roman province of Pannonia from the Antonine period, peaking during the reign of the Severan dynasty. According to the epigraphic and other material evidence, Poetovio was one of the three most important cult centres of the province, along with Savaria and Carnuntum. I will present all the inscriptions and figural representa-tions testifying to the cults of Isis and Serapis found in the ager of Poetovio, including tentative evidence. Then I will try to determine the reasons for the appropriation of these cults and describe all aspects of the worship of Isis and Serapis in the ager of Poetovio. 17 Aleksandra Nestorović Villa with a private Mithraeum? Based on Walter Schmid’s unpublished report and other archaeological sources, we can assume that the third Mithraeum was part of a large villa complex, including at least one smaller bath, maybe two. Mithraeums are common in cities and military camps, but not in private villas. However, a few other cases with a private Mithraeum are known. A smaller Mithraeum is documented in the Roman Villa Orbe-Boscéaz in Switzerland, a vast architectural complex. Another private Mithraeum is known from the luxurious and very well-preserved Roman seaside villa of Els Munts in Tarraco, Spain. It is located in a rural area connected to a large villa. The Mithraeum occupies a central position next to the triclinium and the corridor that connects the main building with the southern baths. The Mithraeum is also special in its size. We also know that duumvir Caius Valerius Avitus lived in the Villa Els Munts in the middle of the 2nd century. The villa could also serve as an imperial residence during the emperor’s stay there. Tarraco was the seat of provincial government, similar to Poetovio. A high-ranking official could also live in the villa on Zgornji Breg. It could even be a temporary imperial residence. We have relatively little information about the commander Lucius Flavius Aper, whose name appears on three altars in the third Mithraeum. On two inscriptions from Ptuj, he is designated as a military commander ( praepositus), and on inscriptions from Aquincum and Bölcske, both in Hungary, as an administrator in the province of Lower Pannonia ( praeses provinciae Pannoniae inferioris). Given that it is one of the most important functions in the territory of Slovenia in general, such a complex with a private Mithraeum and baths would be worthy of such an important military aristocrat. The villa may have been his residence from the second half of the 3rd century until 269, when he was promoted and transferred to Aquincum as administrator of Lower Pannonia. 18 Bojan Djurić Ariadne at St Margaret’s and the promise of a new life Many of the earliest churches in the plain of Dravsko polje and its hilly outskirts, in north-eastern Slovenia, incorporate marble monuments from the cemeteries of Poetovio and other Roman sites. The monuments were reused to strengthen the construction of these churches, particularly in the corners and foundations. One such church is that dedicated to St Margaret in Kebelj above Oplotnica, with the corners of its west wall mainly built of pieces of marble ossuaria. These were uncovered during the renovation of the church in 2003, and include the base fragment of an ossuarium with a relief-decorated right side. The surviving lower part of the relief shows a cloaked reclining figure, leaning on her left arm, on the right. To the left is a pair of bare legs of a man in motion, while shown diagonally between his legs is a gangway, such as are known from the depictions of ships moored on the shore. These features identify the depiction as the mythological scene of Theseus abandoning the sleeping Ariadne on the island of Naxos (Dia), where Dionysus (Bacchus, Liber Pater) will later find and marry her. In the sepulchral art of Noricum and Pannonia, which is marked by a wealth of mythological depictions, this is the only known example of the motif. The relief was probably made in the late 2nd or first half of the 3rd century, a time when the Severan dynasty came to the throne and also a time associated with the revival of Dionysian ideology. 19 Stefano Magnani Dangers of traveling in the Alpine regions in Roman times: the epigraphic documentation The Alps were crossed as far back as prehistoric and protohistoric times by numerous paths that followed river valleys and ascended passes. Entering the Roman sphere of influence as early as the final decades of the 3rd century BC, the Alps were soon frequented by soldiers, adventurers and merchants interested in the control of the territory, the exploitation of local resources or the management of trade in goods and products from further afield. Starting in the Augustan age, the final conquest of the Alpine regions was followed by a general reorganization process and intensive work was carried out to strengthen the communications network, with the creation of roads with adequate infrastructure, to facilitate control, communications, contacts and trade between the Mediterranean and transalpine areas. In spite of the development of this complex system, the Alpine regions remained a source of apprehension, difficulty and danger for those who travelled along them. While the ancient literary documentation generally appears to pay little attention to the details of the experiences of these individuals, the epigraphic testimonies left by some of them, albeit with numerous limitations, allow a more articulate and vivid picture to be reconstructed. Through this paper, I intend to focus on such texts, which in a direct and immediate form are able to convey the dramatic nature of the events sometimes experienced by those who, for very different reasons, frequented the mountainous spaces moving in one direction and the other, between the Mediterranean and the transalpine regions. 20 Jana Horvat The route along the rivers Nadiža (Natisone) and Soča One of the ancient routes between Friuli and Carinthia crossed the Predel Pass. The sacrificial site at Gradič near Kobarid, in use between the 4th century BC and the beginning of the 5th century AD, bears witness to the intensity of the traffic. In the middle of the 1st century BC, Roman merchants and other travellers stopped here on their way to the Norican kingdom. The interregional traffic decreased in the 1st century AD with the construction of a road through the Val Canale. 21 Alenka Cedilnik Theodorus, Bishop of Heraclea in Thrace, in the Service of Constantinople Although the Bishop of Heraclea in Thrace had the right to appoint the Bishop of Byzantium and later of Constantinople, the balance of power between the two cities began to change with the foundation of the latter. This process is traced based on the example of Bishop Theodorus of Heraclea. The bishop was first mentioned in written sources in AD 335. After that, he was one of the most important supporters of Eusebius of Nicomedia, the bishop that laid the foundations for the creation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. 22 Jan Dominik Bogataj, Miran Špelič The cradle of Latin patristic exegesis (Victorinus, Fortunatianus, Hieronymus) Contrary to the general view, we can affirm that the area of the northern Adriatic, between the eastern Alpine and Danube areas, witnessed the beginning of the interpretation of the Bible in Latin. In this light, and in the light of recent research and discoveries, the paper will present three interesting personalities. Victorinus of Poetovio († 303), bishop in the city of Poetovio (today’s Ptuj), is considered a pioneer of Latin exegesis. Fortunatianus of Aquielia († ca. 370), whose work Commentarii in evangelia was only recently discovered (2012) after almost a millennium and a half, turned out to be the author of what is probably the earliest Latin commentary on the Gospels. There is no need to waste words on the importance of Hieronymus († 419/420) for exegesis, but it should be emphasized that – although the location of his birthplace, Stridon, still eludes scholars – in a broader sense, he also comes from this area. 23 Aleš Maver Civil war as punishment?: Constantius II in the Latin Christian historiography of the 4th and 5th centuries This paper will focus on the depictions of Emperor Constantius II in Latin Christian historiography of the 4th and 5th centuries, especially in Jerome, Rufinus and Orosius, and the focus will be on the emperor’s involvement in the civil strife that marked much of his reign. In particular, Orosius points to the (allegedly) close link between what he sees as Constantius’s misguided religious policy and the seemingly constant disaster of civil war that plagued the Roman Empire during his rule. 24 Matej Petrič The Battle of Frigidus in the context of Rufinus’ Church History Near the very end of his two-book Church History, Rufinus of Aquileia offers a description of the battle of Frigidus, which was fought in present-day Slovenia between the Emperor Theodosius and the usurper Eugenius. Rufinus describes the battle not so much as a typical military clash, but rather as a sort of holy war. For him, Frigudius was primarily a fight between paganism and Christianity. Rufinus’ Church History thus includes one of the earliest reports of the battle and is still viewed as an important source for reconstructing the events it describes. In my paper I shall look at the description of the battle of Frigidus in the context of Rufinus’ Church History as a whole, and examine in what way his description of the battle was influenced by his view of the reign of Emperor Theodosius. Historians have generally focused on the description of the battle without sufficiently considering that Rufinus deliberately presented it as the last great act of (for him) the greatest Christian monarch and also as a culmination and conclusion of Theodosius’ fight against paganism, which of course had a significant influence on his depiction of the events. 25 Slavko Ciglenečki The transformation of military fortifications in the Late Roman period and fortifying of the northeastern border of Italy Based on Walter Schmid’s unpublished report and other archaeological Significant changes occurred in the military in the Late Roman period, reflected in the thorough transformation of military fortifications. These reforms affected their placement, construction, and function. With the introduction of defence in depth and an increase in troop numbers, the fortifications along key communication routes and strategic points became more distinctly recognizable due to their defensive architecture. In contrast, many newly established fortifications are identified primarily by their strategic locations, as well as by remnants of military attire and weapons, but they no longer exhibit the characteristic defensive features. A crucial element of defence was the selection of naturally protected sites, often incorporating ancient prehistoric ramparts, which were only rarely upgraded. Some of these changes began to appear in the last third of the 3rd century, but they became fully established only in the second half of the 4th century. A brief overview will be provided of the fortification of the northeastern border of Italy, which shows an extensive system of barrier walls and strong fortresses in the 4th century, particularly along the main route over Hrušica. When this route was abandoned at the beginning of the 5th century, traffic flows were redirected to side routes both north and south of it. Some fortifications along these routes persisted at least into the first decades of the 5th century, representing the last bastions of the once-powerful empire. 26 Ana Kovačič Glass from the late Roman fortress Castra (Slovenia) Fortress Castra was strategical y established on the Via Gemina, halfway between Aquileia and Colonia Iulia Emona. It was protected by the confluence of the river Hubelj and Lokavšček creek. The settlement predating Castra can be traced back to the end of the 1st century BC, when the area became of interest to the expanding Roman state. This settlement first served as a road station ( Fluvio Frigido) and was later known as mutatio Castra. A part of the settlement was demolished between AD 270 and 290, and a new walled fortress was erected in its place. A large central building, bathhouses, a possible temple, several storehouses, and the so-called “Atrium house” have been unearthed inside the fortress. The main focus of this paper will be a presentation of the glass vessels found in the fortress. During the 2018 and 2019 excavations, more than 450 typologically identifiable glass fragments dating from the second half of the 1st century to the 5th century were found. The collection of glass from Castra is impressive due to the variety of shapes and chronological range. 27 Ana Kruh, Andrej Šemrov Roman finds from the slope of Gora east of Ajdovščina The article presents a set of Roman artefacts from the collection of the Regional Museum Goriški muzej Kromberk – Nova Gorica discovered by a private col ector with the help of a metal detector between 2016 and 2020 on the slope north of the regional Ajdovščina – Col road above the village of Budanje near Ajdovščina. The finds are an indicator of the Roman military presence in this area in the 1st century BC and in the Late Roman period. Especially prominent are finds of weapons (primarily arrowheads and plumbatae), which testify that in the second half of the 4th century this was the scene of one or more military conflicts. 28 Vesna Tratnik, Janka Istenič Late Roman conflict landscape near Ajdovščina ( Castra) From 2017 to 2020, a local enthusiast using a metal detector discovered late Roman weapons and coins as well as several other finds on the slopes of the Trnovo Forest between Ajdovščina and Col in western Slovenia. An assessment of the documentation provided by the enthusiast suggested we were dealing with archaeological evidence of a late Roman military conflict. There was significant concern that unauthorized metal detecting at the site would continue or even increase. Therefore, in collaboration with the conservator of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, we designed a plan for extensive field research. The results of the first two years of surveys support the assumption of a late Roman conflict at the site and provide important new information about the conflict landscape. 29 Hrvoje Gračanin Jaroslav Šašel’s Antiqui Barbari half a century later The paper is intended to discuss Jaroslav Šašel’s approach and results in his 1979 paper titled Antiqui Barbari and devoted to the settlement history of eastern Noricum and Pannonia in the 5th and 6th centuries as one of the first in-depth studies of the presence of various non-Roman groups in Late Antique Western Illyricum based on literary sources. Particular attention will be given to the designation antiqui barbari found in the Variae epistolae of Cassiodorus Senator (6th c.), which is sort of a leitmotif of Šašel’s paper. The principal aim is to address the question of identification of what is meant by antiqui barbari, to reevaluate the proposition made by Friedrich Lotter and Helmut Castritius in their respective studies published in 1968 and 1995, and to offer a fresh look on existing literary evidence and bring archaeological evidence into discussion. 30 Zvezdana Modrijan Carnium and Carneola: The Anonymous from Ravenna and archaeological discoveries in recent decades The narrower area of Carneola, mentioned in the Cosmography of the Anonymous from Ravenna, has long been located in the area of present-day Gorenjska and Ljubljana Basin and the former Alpine barriers. The Karavanke Mountains probably represent the natural boundary to the north, but it remains questionable how far south, east and west it extended. The work also lists 25 settlements. In recent decades Archaeological excavations have confirmed the location of the town of Carnium, the first settlement on the list, on the pier above the confluence of the Sava and Kokra rivers, and have also provided insights into the life of the late antique town. At least for a period in the 6th century, it was a place where Roman settlers and Germanic newcomers lived side by side. As the names listed in the Cosmography are pre-Slavic, it is very likely that they refer to hilltop fortified settlements, most of which collapsed at the end of the 6th century and their names have not survived. The number of discovered settlements has increased conside-rably in recent times. Thus, the large number of named sites is less and less surprising, even though none of them is located except Carnium. 31 Aljaž Sekne Martin of Braga as a source for the history of the Slavs in Pannonia The contribution will focus on the dedicatory poem “In basilica”, addressed to St Martin of Tours, which is attributed to Martin of Braga († 579), who originated from Pannonia. Since the Slavs are mentioned among the various peoples who supposedly came to know Christianity through St Martin of Tours († 397), the poem is increasingly being cited in historiography, and more recently especially in archaeology, as evidence of Slavic presence in Pannonia in the first half of the 6th century. This argument was particularly established by Jaroslav Šašel, who was convinced that Martin of Braga, when listing the peoples in the poem, relied on memories from his youth in Pannonia. The analysis will attempt to examine this picture and show that the source is more problematic than generally accepted. Consequently, its significance for the history of the Slavs in the 6th century is rather limited. 32 Tina Milavec Defence of the eastern border of northern Italy in the early Middle Ages The aim of this paper is to discuss the role the territory of present-day Slovenia played in the defence of northern Italy in the early Middle Ages. In Slovenian early Medieval archaeology we are mainly focused on local and regional topics, but in this paper the author suggests we observe the turbulent political and historical context of the northeastern Italy in the 9th and 10th centuries. The western part of the now Slovenian territory in particular represented an important transit area which retained a key strategic position until the southeastern border of the empire moved further towards Pannonia and the Krka River valley. In the light of active control and defence of the communications by the representatives of the state we could perhaps understand even the renewed use of hilltop sites. 33 Beležke/Notes 34 Oddelek Slovenska za zgodovino zgodovina Oddelek za arheologijo