Danube Limes in Vukovar-Syrmia County
For the purposes of inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, archaeological research is being carried out on the Danube Limes, i.e. the system of the Roman Empire's border on the Danube, with the Institute of Archaeology conducting research in Vukovar-Syrmia County. The research is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia. The aim of the program is to gather more information about the defence system, its duration and the possibilities of presentation so that individual sites can be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Based on ancient written sources and epigraphic monuments, it is known that the forts were in Sotin (Cornacum) and Ilok (Cuccium) where Roman military units were located. Troops secured and controlled the border on the Danube, for the purpose of which watchtowers (turmae) were erected between them.
Research to date, which began in the 1960s, has uncovered a number of ancient sites belonging to the Limes system. These are the remains of Roman military fortifications, along with which civilian settlements and cemeteries were built, and they date from the beginning of the 1st to the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century. Trial excavation was conducted from 2008-2018 in the area of Sotin, while in Ilok from 2001-2008 was conducted rescue archaeological excavation.
The project objectivities are the implementation of field surveys of the area along the Danube and geophysical research in the area from Borovo to Ilok, which would include the areas of forts, temporary military camps, watchtowers and civilian settlements. Field surveys are targeted at area located along the Danube from where surface finds are known in order to try to determine the character and distribution of the site. In geomagnetic surveys conducted in 2019-2023 several Roman watchtowers and temporary military camps were discovered, indicating intensive occupation of the edge of the loess plateau by the Roman army. Based on the results of geophysical surveys, trial excavations are planned to verify the results of non-destructive research methods, determine the type of site and obtain their time frame.
Research manager: Marko Dizdar
