Novae Archaeological Site

Novae is located next to the present-day town of Svishtov, on the banks of the Danube River. The archaeological research there began in the 1960s under the leadership of a Bulgarian-Polish team.

It was originally organized as a military camp for the defense of the Limes along the Lower Danube. The Legio VIII Augusta was the first to arrive in 48, followed by the elite Legio I Italica.  At first, the military camp consisted of adobe defensive walls with a wooden fence, observation towers and barracks. The fortification expanded consistently over time. Many corrections were also made due to the invasions of Barbarian tribes from the north and east, periodically striking the whole of today’s Northern Bulgaria – Goths, Huns, Avars, etc. The legion camp is rectangular in plan, with gates on each side. In the protected area, building of the military headquarters – the principia, richly decorated with statues, the officers’ residences, the legion bath and barracks for the soldiers were revealed. A hospital was also constructed, which could accommodate up to 300 men for treatment. In its courtyard a sanctuary was set up dedicated to the healing deities Asclepius and Hygeia.

Gradually, a civilian settlement was built outside the fortress walls, inhabited by colonists, former legionnaires who started families with local women, merchants, often immigrants from Asia Minor. In 69, Emperor Vespasian issued a decree giving Novae a town status.

Novae is connected with another important, still poorly known episode of the history of the Bulgarian lands – the presence of the Goths. In 250, the town fell victim to a severe Gothic attack led by Cniva. It suffered great destruction, but the fortress resisted and was not captured. Complicated relations with the Goths followed for decades, some of them settled permanently in today’s Northern Bulgaria. In the period of 418 – 451, Novae became the main residence of Theoderic the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, before continuing his way to Ravenna, Italy.

In the 5th – 6th centuries Novae – already a large, beautiful town – became the seat of a bishopric. An Episcopal complex was revealed, which contained large and small basilicas, a beautiful baptistery, remarkable for its architecture, as well as a huge building dedicated to the worshipers of the local martyr St. Lupus. The name of the Saint became known due to the discovery of a sarcophagus on which Lupus was engraved. Most likely, the sarcophagus belonged to a martyrium that kept the relics of the Saint.

St. Lupus of Novae is mentionated by Theophylact Simocatta in his “History”.  In 595, Strategos Peter, brother of Emperor Mauritius, led a campaign against Slavs, Bulgars and Avars who were attacking the northern border of the Empire. He stayed in Novae for two days and took part in the all-night vigil on the eve of the feast devoted to the local martyr St. Lupus.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of St. Lupus on August 23.

For the last time Novae is reported in the chronicles from the early 7th century.

FORMAL ANALYSIS