Location: 20 km (12 mi) North of Veliko Tirnovo Map
Ruins of Nicopolis ad Nestum Archaeological Site (Nikopolis ad
Mestum) are all that remains from a ancient Roman border
fortifications. Nicopolis ad Nestum Archaeological Site is located
seven kilometers to the east of the town of Gotse Delchev, close to
the village of Garmen. It is located in the ancient Roman province
of Thracia (Thrace).
After Emperor Trajan defeated Dacians
in 105- 106 AD in a bitter and bloody war, he ordered construction
of series of forts to defend the conquered lands that became known
as the province of Thracia (Thrace). The military camp was
established on the left bank of the Mesta River on a site of an
older Thracian town of Alexandroupolis ("city of Alexander" in
Greek). Its new name Nicopolis ad Nestum or Nicopolis ad Mestum to
be precise can be translated from Latin as "city of victory,
situated at Nestos or Mesta". It stands on a strategic trade route
that connected the Aegean coast with the main military road Via
Egnatia leading to the Rhodopes mountains, Thracian lowlands and
Philippopolis (now Plovdiv).
Central location of Nicopolis ad Nestum favored its formation into a
center of economic, political and cultural significance.
Nicopolis ad Nestum was founded in 106
on the site of the Thracian settlement of Alexandroupolis by the
Roman emperor Trajan, in honor of his victory over the Dacians.
Translated from Latin, its name means "City of Victory, located at
Nestos (Mesta River)."
The city is located on the road
connecting the Aegean coast with the main military road Via Egnatia
through the Rhodopes, the Thracian lowlands and Philippopolis
(today's Plovdiv). This favors its formation as a center of
economic, political and cultural significance in the period of its
heyday in the period II-VI century.
Nicopolis ad Nestum is
mentioned in the work of the ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy.
Coins were minted in the city from the time of Emperor Commodus (180
- 192) to the reign of Emperor Caracalla (211 - 217). The found
coins and votive reliefs testify to the worship of the deities -
Zeus, Pluto, Hermes, the Thracian horseman, Asclepius and Hygia, as
well as the river god Nestos (Mesta) and the Ares and Dionysus
revered by the Thracians. The city was an episcopal center in the
period IV-XI century. At the end of the VI century (577) it was
destroyed by Slavs and Avars. It was rebuilt during the reign of
Justinian I. In the IX-X century the city was revived again under
the name of Nikopol and lasted until the XIII century, when it
perished during the Crusades. During the Late Middle Ages there was
a Bulgarian settlement in part of the place, and in the southeastern
part of the fortified town - a Turkish farm. During the Ottoman rule
the town moved a few kilometers to the west and its name is
preserved in the form Nevrokop (today's Gotse Delchev).
The
Pseudo-Epiphany list states that Nevrokop entered the diocese of
Thrace and that the city was the seat of an archbishop.
Nikopolis ad Nestum is one of the few preserved ancient cities in
Bulgaria and the only one in the Rhodopes from the period of Roman
rule in the Balkans. It has been declared an archeological and
architectural monument from antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Archaeological research
Archaeological excavations in the area of
the ancient settlement have been conducted since 1980. The
earliest finds found here date back to the Neolithic period. The
studied area occupies about 13 hectares. About 280 m of fortress
walls, foundations of public and religious buildings, burial mounds
were discovered during the excavations. Fragments of a votive relief
of the Thracian horseman, a statuette of Hermes, an early Christian
tombstone, over 95 gold and about 22 other coins as well as glass,
bronze and ceramic vessels, a gold ring were found. Thracian mound
necropolises from the 1st century BC have also been discovered. The
city is organized similar to the Asian cities of Asia Minor. An
interesting monument of late antique stone sculpture is the altar
table found in a fragmentary condition. It was found in the ruins of
a building located in the northwestern part of the ancient city. The
table is presented in the exposition of the Historical Museum in the
town of Gotse Delchev. It is represented by seven fragments of the
eight found. In the southeast corner is a rich house with a
courtyard and a marble colonnade with a portico. In the immediate
vicinity of the southern fortress wall, a bathroom was discovered.
Sectors of the western fortress wall with a U-shaped tower and the
eastern fortress wall with a rectangular tower were discovered.
Pottery kilns, dug pits with fragments of household pottery, metal
objects and coins have been discovered since the Middle Ages.
Castle wall
Part of the original territory of the city is
surrounded by a wall with a thickness of 2.40 - 2.60 m. The fortress
walls are partially preserved and in some places reach 5-6 m in
height. The execution of the masonry is of the opus mixtum type -
built with stones welded with mortar, alternating with belts of four
rows of bricks. From the discovered fortress walls, the southern
one, which was built with 4 round towers, has been fully studied.
The south gate is open in 40 meters of exedra, protected by square
towers.
City dwelling
The rich dwelling is located in the
southeast corner of the fortified town next to the southeast corner
tower. It was built before the fortress wall was built. The living
quarters are located around a courtyard with a marble colonnade
(peristyle) with a covered portico. The largest room is the kitchen.
According to the original plan, there was a pool (impluvium) in the
center of the yard, which was later turned into a courtyard paved
with cobblestones.
Late antique baths
The architectural plan of
the bathroom defines it as a provincial public bathroom of block
type with hypocaust heating. It was built around the 1920s, and its
construction preceded that of the fortress wall. At the end of the
4th or the beginning of the 5th century the building was set on
fire. It was probably destroyed during Gothic invasions at the end
of the Second Gothic War. At the end of the 5th century it was
rebuilt. Evidence of this is a gold coin of Emperor Zeno discovered
during excavations. It was probably operational until the end of the
third quarter of the 6th century and was finally destroyed by an
earthquake.
Churches
Remains of three early Christian
churches have been found in the area of Nicopolis ad Nestum. The
earliest of them, 3 km southwest of the city, is a three-nave
basilica with a length of 40.24 meters, built in the late IV
century, rebuilt in the late V - early VI century and used until the
end of VI century. The second church, also three-nave, is in the
center of today's village Garmen, was built in the V century and
functioned until the second half of the VI century, in which two
tombs and remains of frescoes were found. The third building was
discovered northeast of today's village and dates back to the 5th
century.