Wiseman, James. 1986. "Archaeology and History at Stobi, Macedonia," In: Charles B.

McClendon, ed., Rome and the Provinces (New Haven Society of the
Archaeological Institute of America) 37-50.

Archaeology and History at Stobi, Macedonia

JAMES R. WISEMAN

Professor of Archaeology, Boston University

Introduction

The Hellenistic Town

The ancient city of Stobi lies at the confluence of the Vardar

and Crna rivers, the ancient Axius and Erigon, in Yugo
slavian Macedonia, ca. 150 km. north of Thessalonica (fig.
38). The identification of the site, based both on topographi
cal and epigraphical evidence, has been certain since the 19th
century whenJ.G. von Hahn and Leon Heuzey independ
ently discovered the ancient town. I Subsequent activities
until 1969 by antiquarians, construction workers for the
Orient Express railway, military forces, archaeologists, and
conservators resulted in the uncovering of a number of
structures at Stobi and in its environs, chiefly dating to the
Late Antique period (4th-6th centuries after Christ), and in
the recovery of a number of inscriptions, works of art, and
other artifacts, many of which eventually found their way to
the National Museum of Beograd and the Archaeological
Museum in Skopje. In 1970 ajoint American-Yugoslav
project was initiated that conducted excavations and
research at Stobi each summer through 1981. Table 1
provides a summary of the investigations at Stobi in modern
times. 2

The historian Livy, in a discussion of events in Macedonia in

183 B.C., referred to Stobi of Paeonia as a vetere urbe, 6 and
even comments on a military engagement of Philip V near
Stobi in 197 B.C. 7 One might have expected, on the
testimony ofLivy, that remains at leastof early Hellenistic or
even Classical times would be abundant at Stobi. Indeed,
prior to the beginning of the project in 1970, we suspected
that the obvious strategic value of this location in the angle of
the two largest rivers of Macedonia might have attracted
prehistoric inhabitants. The archaeological evidence to date,
however, does not support an early date for the occupation
of Stobi.

Archaeological and historical research by the project of

1970-19813 was aimed at expanding our understanding of
the evolution of urban life at Stobi through a study of the
changing cultural and physical environments. A number of
more specific aims were developed both at the inception and
throughout the course of the project in order to guide the
investigations along several approaches and to set inter
mediate, attainable goals; those aims have been outlined
elsewhere and the reader is referred to that presentation. 4
The present essay provide,S a brief summary of the life and
death of the ancient city of Stobi, based chiefly on the results
of the bi-national project. 5 The study offers several examples
of how archaeological research can detect, and occasionally
answer, problems of historical and social significance that
have been neglected or omitted altogether in the preserved
historical records.

No undisturbed, primary deposit of prehistoric date has yet

been found at Stobi, although several prehistoric artifacts,
both of stone and of terra cotta, have been found in clearly
later contexts. Late Bronze Age pottery was found below the
theater with carbonized wood and seed that yielded a (cor
rected) radiocarbon date of 1100 142 B.C., butthedeposit
had been disturbed at the time of the construction of the
theater, and may even have been a secondary deposition,
e.g., fill brought in from elsewhere. 8 Ivan MikulCic cites
several artifacts from Stobi that "can be dated near the end of
the 7th century and the early 6th century B.C.," but all his
examples are either from secondary deposits or uncertain
contexts. To the latter category would belong the bronze
vessel fragment found below the Civil Basilica (fig. 39, no. 4)
and dated by Djordje Mano-Zissi to the 5th century B.C.
Contextual evidence for such early dates is altogether
lacking. 9 Six joining fragments of a red-figured skyphos of
the early 4th century B.C. were found in 1978 below the
baptistery (fig. 39, no. 2 1) with other sherds ranging in dates
as late as the 1st century A.D.lo The skyphos was probably
from a grave disturbed by construction work during early
imperial times, and may well have been an heirloom; no
other grave yet found at Stobi, in any case, can be dated so
early.

W I S E MAN

It is only when we reach the 2nd century B.C. that we have

fully reliable evidence for the occupation of the site .
Habitation remains of that date and of the 1st century B.C.
have been found near the northern end of the ridgetop,! I
below the Civil Basilica, 12 and below the Central Basilica (fig.
39, no. 6).13 The last area was of special interest because of the
discovery there of a hoard containing 504 silver denarii, an
anonymous victoriatus, and an Athenian tetradachm. 14 The
coins range in date from 21 1 B.C. to 125 B.C. (fig. 40). The
latest coin, therefore , was issued not long before an
engagement in 119 B.C. between Roman troops and raiding
Scordisci in the vicinity of nearby Macedonian Argos and the
hoard may be associated with that event. 15 The structural
remains of a potter's establishment, which continued in use
into the 1st century B.C., were found some 10 m. SW of the
small pit in which the hoard had been secreted, but still
beneath the Central Basilica.

The pitofthe coin hoard, the wall foundations of the potter's

building, the earliest structural remains and hearths below
the Civil Basilica, and the late Hellenistic deposits on the
ridgetop all were set into or lay on the prehistoric bed of the
Crna river. The ridge on which the historical town was
eventually built had, in fact, been sculpted by the Crna as it
gradually slipped south-eastward to its present bed. 16
Excavations closer to the present banks of the two rivers
could not be carried to the earliest occupation levels because
the water table is now higher than it was in antiquity, but it is a
reasonable assumption that the Hellenistic community
extended from the top of the ridge at least to the banks of the
two rivers (fig. 39).
No remains of Hellenistic houses or other structures have
been found south of the Central Basilica anywhere along the
ridge. The cemetery of the Late Hellenistic community
began at least below the courtyard of the House of Peristeria
(fig. 39, no. 11) and extended to the south and southeast for a
minimum of 300 m. The townsite, then, seems to have been
situated precisely in the NW angle of the confluence of the
two rivers and although houses may have continued some
distance upstream along the left bank of the Crna, on the
middle and upper slope of the ridge, the town limits lay
somewhere between the later Central Basilica and House of
Peristeria. The industrial works of the potter, then, lay
appropriately on the outskirts of town, and the nekropolis
stretched out to the southwest, along the route that led to the
Pelagonian plain and Heraclea Lyncestis (fig. 38).
Inhumation and cremation burials have been excavated
below the courtyard of the House ofPeristeria,17 two
inhumations below the House of the Fuller (fig. 39 , no. 16),18
a disturbed inhumation below the orchestra of the theater,
and both inhumation and cremation burials in the West

Stobi, MaCfdonia

Cemetery, outside the later Porta Heraclea (fig. 39, no. 30) .19
The forms of the graves were equally varied : e.g., arched or
flat tile constructions over inhumations or cremations;
sim pIe grave pits; and pits with covers of stone slabs,
sometimes with a stone peribolos marking the grave site. At
many of the graves, especially those in the West Cemetery,
there was evidence of a fire in the grave pit, probably in
conjunction with a funeral ritual (not for the cremations) .2o
The earliest of the Hellenistic burials may go back to the 3rd
century B.C., but most date to the 2nd and into the 1st
century B.C., as indicated both by the artifacts found in the
graves (including pottery, terracotta figurines , and coins),
and by a number of radiocarbon dates. 21 Pottery of the late
4th or 3rd century B.C. is known from within the townsite,
chiefly from one trench below the NE end of the Central
Basilica, but it cannot yet be associated with a contemporary
structure. 22
The archaeological evidence, then, points to the foundation
of a small town on the left bank of the Crna at its confluence
with the Vardar sometime in the 3rd century B.C. A
founding date in the 4th century B.C. or earlier is possible,
but if so we must suppose an even smaller original
community, or one whose center lay above the (unexcavated)
left bank of the Vardar. The population seems to have
increased during the 2nd century B.C., and the rather
modest material culture points to trade with regions both to
the north and south and with Asia Minor but with an
increasing amount of imported flOe pottery from Italy,
especially in the late 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. 23 There are
no inscriptions of the earlier period to identify linguistic
groups, but both the mixture of native and imported
elements in the material culture and the variety of burial
customs indicate a mixed population, including, we may
suppose , Paeonians and other IIlyric natives of the region;
Greeks and Macedonians, who followed in the wake of the
incursions of Philip II and Philip V; and Roman veterans,
especially following the Roman victory at Pydna in 168 B.C.
(Stobi in 167 B.C. became the salt emporium for the third
meris of Macedonia 24 ) and the creation of the province of
Macedonia in 146 B.C. 25

The Roman City

The late 1st century B.C. marks the beginning of a major
expansion of the areal extent of Stobi and of the size of its
population . The area below the Central Basilica and Civil
Basilica continued to be utilized by residential (or residential/
commercial) structures , some with stone-paved floors or
courtyards.26 A midden of Augustan date covered the
portion of the Hellenistic cemetery below the courtyard of

39

the House of Peristeria and was in turn immediately built

over by modest houses. 27 To the SE of the Large Bath (fig. 39,
no. 9) part of a more elaborate structure with a courtyard
flanked on at least two sides by a stuccoed colonnade was
succeeded in the early 1st century A.D. by a residence with a
mural in fresco secco. 28 Walls of other structures of similarly
early Roman date have been found below the House of the
Fuller, including one wall coated with clay and lime plaster
and decorated with a painted design of flowers and abstract
quadrupeds (probably horses) above a dado imitating marble
encrustation. 29
No structu res of early Roman date have been found between
the House of the Fuller and the Porta Heraclea, and none has
been found in any of the several trenches dug to bedrock
below the Episcopal Basilica com plex (fig. 39, nos. 18,20-2 I)
and its environs, or below the theater, although pottery of the
1st century A.D. has been found in several of the lower
deposits. Indeed, the earliest structure so far discovered in
the SW region of the city is the theater itself, the construction
of which began in the 1st half of the 2nd century A.D.30
The city wall itself may belong in its earliest form to the time
of Augustus, or not long thereafter. Pottery of the 1st
century A.D. was found associated with the earliest use level
of a stretch of the wall along the Crna river, which must, in
any case, antedate the later 3rd century.31 It is also significant
that no graves of early imperial times have been found within
the area delimited by the city wall, but the number of burials
in the West Cemetery, including the area immediately outside
the Porta Heraclea, shows a marked increase in the late 1st
century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D.32
The SW region of the city, then, may have been kept clear of
structures during the early centuries of the empire for
protected agriculture or husbandry within the urban
confines, or to provide a marshalling ground for defenders
of the most vulnerable part of the fortifications. The Vardar
and Crna, it should be noted, would have come close to the
wall on the north and east, and the ridge is steep on the west;
access to the city was easiest on the south (fig. 39).
The two most substantial structures so far discovered (other
than the theater) that can be dated to early imperial times are
the Casa Romana near the eastern city wall (fig. 39, no. 28;
fig. 41) and a multi-storied structure ca. 75 m. to the east (fig.
39, no. 27; fig. 41); neither has been fully excavated.
In the Casa Romana one large room (fig. 41) was excavated to
a depth of ca. 2 m., where a use-surface of the late 3rd and
4th centuries A.D. was identified at the level of the bottom of
the upper tier of wall decoration. The original floor (or
foundation for the floor), some 2 m.lower, was reached only

in a test trench in the SW portion of the room, inasmuch as

the water table is now well above the ancient floor level. The
walls of this room were decorated with molded stucco in two
chronological phases. The earlier wall decoration consisted
of molded rectangular stucco panels. This layer in the upper
part of the room was later covered by much larger
rectangular panels separated by molded stucco imitating
Ionic pilasters (fig. 42). A corridor to the north was even
more elaborately decorated with brightly painted frescoes in
imitation of marble encrustation and Ionic pilasters; part ofa
scene with a human figure found in the debris may have
come from an extension of the corridor. Other rooms and
corridors lie on the other three sides of the large room, and a
broad, stone-flagged street separated the Casa Romana from
the eastern city wall (fig. 43).33
The Casa Romana, despite its name, is by no means
definitively identified as an urban villa. The sumptuous
decoration and the size of the principal room suggest some
public or semi-public function, but extensive excavation, not
feasible at this time, is needed to provide support for any
hypothesis. The date of the building has not been
determined because the high water table has prevented the
investigation of construction deposits. The decoration of the
walls, however, suggests a date in the 1st century A.D.
The multi-storied structure referred to above (fig. 39, no. 27;
fig. 41) clearly served a public function, probably as a bath. 34
Two major phases have been identified. To the earlier phase,
which probably dates to the 1st or 2nd century A.D., belongs
a large room at the western end of the explored area of the
complex. The room had a floor pavement of varicolored
marble opus sectile. The walls were decorated with marble and
painted plaster, and there were niches containing sculpture.
A large arched opening (nearly 3 m. wide and 4.5 m. high),
flanked by arched niches for sculpture, provided access to
another marble-encrusted room on the east, the floor of
which was probably also originally paved with opus sectile and
which lay ca. 0.37 m. below the western room. A stairway
ascended to the sou th from an arched opening in the eastern
room.
In the 3rd century A.D. the two arched openings of the
eastern room were blocked, the stairway filled in and sealed,
and the entire room filled to a depth of ca. 3.5 m. at which
level a large mosaic was laid extending over 30 m. to the east,
with a N -S dimension of ca. 19 m. The mosaic, constructed of
relatively large stone tesserae, displays chiefly geometric and
floral patterns in large panels, except for a single register
showing a dolphin leaping into a basin (fig. 44). The great
size of the paved area and the scarcity of brick-and-concrete
debris suggests that the mosaic was the pavement of a
courtyard rather than of a room with an arcuated ceiling.

W I S E MAN

The western room during this phase seems to have lain

outside the structure and to have served as a refuse area. In
the upper debris three bases for bronze statues were found
that may have adorned the earlier, more sumptuous
structure. All three statues were ofC. Aelius Priscus, a
primipilarius and evidently a member of a distinguished
family of Stobi in the 2nd to early 3rd centuries A.D. The
family even included a priestess of Artemis Lochia and the
Divine Emperors. 35 Other rooms extended at least to the
north, but have not yet been explored.
Midway up the slope above the building just described more
substantial buildings replaced the modest structures already
mentioned below the Civil Basilica and the Central Basilica.
The most significant of these was the Synagogue of Poly
charmus, erected at least by the 2nd century A.D., and
possibly even in existence before the end of the 1st century.
In the main hall of the synagogue, which lies ca. 1.8 m. below
the nave of the Central Basilica, Polycharmus had the south
wall decorated with painted plaster displaying the repeated
legend in Greek, IloAvxuPI-l0C; 16 JtU'tllP 1VXYJv, "Poly
charmus, the father, as a votive offering." The presence of a
courtyard is suggested by the discovery of a marble column
bearing a lengthy Greek inscription that details the
munificence of "Tiberius Claudius Polycharmus, also called
Achyrius, father of the synagogue at Stobi ... "36
The most monumental construction of the city in imperial
times was the theater, built near the SW edge of the city and
begun in the early 2nd century A.D. (fig. 39, no. 24; fig. 45)37
The original construction of the scene building never
progressed above the ground floor, and a new design with a
depth almost dou ble that of the original was imposed about
the ~iddle of the century when the cavea was also built. The
facade of the scene building, in two stories with six
colonnaded porches and niches for statuary, was of a fine
grained white marble and a reddish brecciated limestone,
both available in the region. A marble statue of a Roman
emperor, perhaps Lucius Verus (161-180 A.D.), which was
found in the orchestra, must once have stood in one of the
niches, and probably identifies the imperial sponsor of the
building. 3s
The cavea was in two tiers and had a seating capacity of ca.
7,600. The marble seats were for the most part removed and
reused in Late Antique structures; the only seats found in
place are in the first three kerkides ("wedges") and part of the
fourth, numbering from the SW parodos, of the lower tier
(fig. 46). An interesting feature of the seats is that almost all
ofthose found in place, and many of the others found reused
in other buildings, bear inscriptions in Greek. The inscrip
tions provide the names of many of the citizens of Stobi of the
2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. (and possibly of the 4th century),

Stobi, Macedonia

and it is clear from the seats still in situ that they mark seating
areas according to membership in the phylai, that is, the
voting tribes ofStobi. The tribes are arranged three to a kerkis
in the lower tier; the tribal divisions presumably extended
into the upper tier. We may postulate a total of 21 city tribes,
the names ofsix of which are preserved (in Greek) among the
inscriptions: C[laudiJa?, Martia, Valeria, (Merc?)uria, Vibia,
and Terentia. 39 The proedria of the cavea, on a podium
raised high above the level of the unpaved orchestra,
originally looked out over a low railing which was soon
replaced by a post-and-net barrier that must have been
intended to provide the spectators with some protection
from the more violent forms of entertainment in the
orchestra. 4o
On the basis of the architectural and epigraphical evidence,
and supported by archaeological parallels and historical
references, we may envision three classes of activities in the
theater: 1) purely theatrical performances, whether plays,
mimes, or musical compositions; 2) combat and possibly
executions, both conceivably including the occasional use of
wild animals; and 3) gatherings of the citizens ofStobi for
official functions. 41 We may be certain that only on the latter
occasions, when a vote might be taken, members of the
audience were expected to seat themselves according to the
demarcations of the tribal units and individual seat assign
ments. The same may have been the case on all other
occasions, except that women would presumably have also
found seats within spaces allotted to their family.
The expansion of the town that has been characterized here,
albeit briefly, by the archaeological remains seems to have
begun early in the reign of Augustus. The expansion,
indeed, may have coincided with the granting of the ius
Italicum to the citizens ofStobi during that emperor's reign,
for we know from ancient literature that at that time Stobi
was an oppidum civium Romanorum ("town of Roman
citizens").42 It is likely that at the same time the town was
raised to the rank of municipium; it certainly was a municipium
by 69 B.C., from which date coins were minted at Stobi
bearing the legend MUN(icipium) STOB(ensium).43
It is unclear how early the irregular grid pattern of the later
Roman town (fig. 39) was imposed on the community. The
earliest ofeleven street surfaces exposed in the Via Sacra that
leads to the Porta Heraclea was in use by the 2nd or early 3rd
century A.D.44 It might also be noted that the Casa Romana
and the large building to its SW (the probable bath described
above) have an identical orientation, but one that is at
variance with the other buildings of the city south of the
synagogue (fig. 39). The main forum of imperial times has
not yet been located; I suspect it lay in the lower city, perhaps
somewhere in the area of fig. 39, no. 27.

4'

The expansion and general prosperity of Stobi continued

through the 2nd century, as the architectural developments,
material culture , and epigraphic evidence suggest. Within
the course of the 3rd century, however, there were a number
of changes, and at least one earthquake . The latter is repre
sented most clearly in the cavea of the theater where the
orthostates of the podium were moved "centimeters out of
line" and other enormous blocks were displaced. 45 The scene
building was also severely damaged.
The earthquake may have been responsible for some of the
other destructions of the 3rd century that have been noted in
various parts of the city . Synagogue I was destroyed in the
late 3rd century, 46 and Building C below the Civil Basilica
may also have been destroyed then .47 The Casa Romana was
extensively damaged and flooded at the same time. What is
more , the street between it and the city wall was covered by
more than a meter of deposits that were at least partly
riverine, and the deposit was topped by a layer of destruction
debris (fig. 43).48 Similar deposits covered the mosaic
courtyard (or hall) of the large public building SW of the
Casa Romana. 49 This area of the city along the Crna never
fully recovered from the devastation of the late 3rd century.
The destructions, however, are not necessarily precisely
contemporary. The archaeological record is not yet so
detailed that we can discern in it whether the earthquake that
damaged the theater occu rred at the same time as the flood
that ravaged the structures near the Crna, or several years
earlier or later. Other destructions, too, may have been local
and only nearly contemporary. Indeed, some have speculated
that part of the late 3rd century destruction might have come
at the hands of the Goths,50 who made frequent incursions to
the south in the second half of the 3rd century.
In any case, a number of new structures succeeded older
buildings at the end of the 3rd and early in the 4th century.
Synagogue II, with mosaic floor pavements (fig. 47) and
frescoed inner walls, rose above the Synagogue of
Polycharmus. lt was directly connected with a predecessor of
the House of Psalms, the residence of the clergy associated
with the later Central Basilica. 51 To the north below the Civil
Basilica, the apsidal Building B was constructed. 52 The Large
Bath (fig. 39, no. 9), separated from the synagogue complex
by the Via Axia , succeeded a 3rd century bath, but at a
somewhat higher level. 53 Such elegant 5th-century
residences as the Theodosian Palace, the House ofPeristeria,
and the House of Parthenius all seem to have had 4th
century phases (fig. 39, nos. 14, 11, and 13 respectively).54
The theater itself underwent a rough remodelling: two
refuges were added in the cavea wall facing the orchestra; a
stone-and-concrete wall was raised on the edge of the

podium of the cavea , blocking the view from the first five
rows (but protecting the spectators);55 a barricade of identical
construction was placed across the parodoi so that the
orchestra/arena was completely enclosed (see fig. 45).56 The
central room of the scene building became a sanctuary of
Ultrix Augusta, an especially appropriate deity for the often
violent activities that took place in the theater. 57
The area south and west of the theater seems to have been
developed for the first time during the course of the 4th
century. The partially restored plan in figure 48 shows the
principal early structures in this district. Building D has been
restored as a square with a peristyle court on the basis of the
northern corridor, the only part excavated, but it probably
had a series of rooms opening off one or more of the other
corridors. A flagstone pavement north of Building D would
have led on the west to a ramp or stairway ascending to a
predecessor of the Via Sacra, which lay some 3 m. above the
use level of this area. To the east was Building E, a bath of
some elegance that was decorated in part with wall mosaics ,
and Building B , a two-storied structure of undetermined
function, both built close to the outer wall of the theater. 58
During the last quarter of the century the city's major
ecclesiastical complex was built in this area. The construction
of the chu rch itself (Building A in fig. 48), however, may be
associated with other important developments not only at
Stobi but also in Macedonia and throughout the empire. It
will be convenient, therefore, to take up the rise of Chris
tianity at Stobi in the context of a discussion of the city in Late
Antiquity.

The Provincial Capital in Late Antiquity

Sometime before the early 5th century the province of
Macedonia was partitioned and the smaller region to the
north was given the name Macedonia Salutaris.59 A date ca.
A.D. 386 is likely for the partition inasmuch as other districts
of a similar name were created at that time in the eastern
provinces. 6o The date is also attractive because the partition
might have provided Theodosius I the occasion to visit the
new province in A.D. 388, during which year he issued two
edicts from Stobi. 61 Later in the 4th century, or during the
course of the 5th century, Macedonia Salutaris was renamed
Macedonia Secunda, and its region more clearly delineated
by our ancient sources through the listing of eight cities of the
province, with Stobi in the prime position. 62 The province
continued to exist until probably sometime in tl;e decade
after A.D. 535 when the prefecture of Illyricum, in which
Macedonia lay, was evidently once again reorganized. 63
There is no explicit mention in the ancient sources ofStobi as
the capital either of Macedonia Salutaris or Macedonia

W I S E MAN

Secunda, but there is strong circumstantial evidence that it

was the capital of both. The prominence of Stobi from 167
B.C. through the 3rd century has already been demonstrated
in the previous sections of this study. It remained the most
prominent of all the cities listed as belonging to the latter
province (the others were Argos, Eustraion, Pelagonia,
Bargala, Kelainidion, Armonia, and Zapara). Its Christian
community clearly attained a position of early importance,
for bishops of Stobi attended several major ecclesiastical
congresses from the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 to the
Trullanum Synod in A.D. 693 (see Table 2).64 The visit to
Stobi by the Em peror Theodosius in 388 is also suggestive
that by that time Stobi had become the provincial capital.
Other evidence may be found in the architectural changes of
the city in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, as discussed
below.
One of the most important of these architectural events was
the erection in the late 4th century of a large Christian
church virtually in the shadow of the theater (fig. 48,
Building A). The church was a three-qisled basilica with
colorful frescoes on at least the north and south walls (fig. 49)
and on the ceilings of the side aisles. The side aisles
themselves were paved with a red plaster and the nave with a
mosaic of stone tesserae. The floor of the presbyterium
combined mosaics with slate-and-marble opus sectile
(fig. 50).65
The church may have been completed only shortly before
the visit ofTheodosius, who might even have been present
for its dedication. 66 The church is built above an earlier,
smaller structure whose precise form has not yet been
determined. It is likely, in view of its location and the fact that
Stobi had a bishop as early as 325, that the earlier structure
also served an ecclesiastical, or semi-ecclesiastical, function.
A piscina to the south of the church has also been dated to the
late 4th century; it presumably was used for baptism. 67 North
of the church the earliest part of a residence (formerly
thought to be the Episcopal Residence) so far excavated is the
apsidal structure at the eastern end of the complex, which
was built in the 4th century A.D. It may have served as an
oratorium before the construction of the larger church. 68
Another major architectural and institutional change that
occurred near the end of the 4th century was the closing of
the theater. A hoard of69 debased silver coins and four gold
coins, hidden just below the floor of the Nemeseum, was
recovered in 1974. The coins were minted during the reigns
of the emperors Gratian, Valens, and Valentinian 1. The
theater may already have been officially closed when the
hoard was deposited; the non recovery of the hoard may have
resulted from the owner's unexpected death through some

Stobi, Macedonia

natural agency (e.g. , the flood described in the following

paragraph) or at the hands of the Visigoths, who must at least
have passed near Stobi in A.D. 395 when they invaded
Greece. 69
The cavea of the theater soon became a major source of
building material for structures throughout the city, and the
untended parodoi and orchestra began to fill up with
dumped refuse and earth washed in by rain . By the turn of
the century houses were being constructed on the new fill of
the abandoned theater. It is clear that ifthe theater was still in
use at the time of the visit ofTheodosius, it did not long
survive his departure. 7o
Yet another dramatic change in the urban design was the
construction, early in the 5th century, of a new city wall on
the east. The construction followed another destructive
flood by the Crna that inundat~d the Casa Romana and other
structures in the vicinity. The flood was followed , perhaps
immediately, by a catastrophic landslide from the ridge
opposite the Cas a Romana so that the top of the buildingwas
swept away and the riverine deposits were sealed within the
structure by ajumbled mass of clay with flysch sandstone and
round cobbles of clay shale. The scar left by the landslide is
still visible on the slope of the ridge, Orlova Cuka. The
landslide was of such size that it must have completely
blocked for a time the flow of the river, thereby causing even
more extensive flooding of the lower city.7l
The new city wall, then, was set ca. 100 m. back from the river
and was probably intended to serve both as a fortification and
as a flood dike. The palatial structures near the river were
finally abandoned; the new wall, in fact, crosses the large
structure with the mosaic courtyard and is actually bedded
on the mosaic. 72 This new wall seems to have been one of the
first structures in the city to make extensive use of the marble
seats from the cavea of the theater; they appear as string
courses in both faces of the wall and as a threshold for an
inner tower (fig. 41).
By the third quarter of the 5th century the palatial residences
along the mid-slope of the ridge all contained courtyards
with fountains and their interiors were decorated with
mosaic pavements, opus sectile, frescoes, and occasionally wall
mosaics. 73 Residences for the less prosperous have been
found higher on the ridge, above and around the ruins ofthe
theater, and in the vicinity of the city wall. Some modest
structures were even erected above the West Cemetery near
the Porta Heraclea.
Two baths and a public fountain (fig. 39, nos. 5, 8, 9) and all
the numerous fountains within the residences were supplied
with water by an extensive network of cond uits laid beneath

43

the streets that follow the line of the ridge. The conduits then
were tapped for fresh water by the residents situated
downslope, and were paralleled by sewage lines that received
waste and runoff from the structures upslope. 74
The principal streets, and even some of the minor ones, were
paved with a variety of materials, including in one instance
the ubiquitous theater seats (fig. 51).75 The Via Sacra was
lined with arcades and, like all the main streets, was
articulated by jogs and angles (fig. 45). This interruption of
otherwise possible long vistas seems to be a characteristic of
Late Antique urban design, as Professor William MacDonald
has pointed OUt. 76
There were at least 5, and possibly 6 churches in Stobi and its
suburban areas; all were apsidal, three-aisled basilicas. Of the
extramural churches, one basilica lay ca. 2 km. to the SW,
near the present village of Palikura, and a second near the
Porta Heraclea. 77 The latter, built over a portion of the West
Cemetery, became the Cemetery Basilica for the city about
the middle of the 5th century .78 That part of the cemetery
closer to the city wall (fig. 39, no. 30) ceased to be used for
burials before the middle of the 4th century, and modest
structures (residences or small shops) were erected there in
the course of the next century. 79 This circumstance suggests
that the area later occupied by the Cemetery Basilica and the
immediate vicinity may have been designated hallowed
ground for the Christian dead even in the second quarter of
the century.
The North Basilica (fig. 39, no. 2) was one of two churches
within the city that possessed a baptistery, the one here b~ing
a small, cruciform construction . Further to the south the
upper part of the synagogue was dismantled and the area
filled in, after the middle of the 5th century, to provide a
higher base for a Christian church, the Central Basilica (fig.
39, no. 6). The contiguous structure on the south, also
previously connected to the synagogue, was remodelled and
used as a residence for clergy.8o The conversion of a place
sacred to the Jews for over three centuries into a Christian
ecclesiastical complex clearly marks a major change in the
fortunes of the Jewish community of Stobi. No other
synagogue has been found at Stobi.
The most monumental of the churches ofStobi was the
Episcopal Basilica built about the middle of the 5th century
on an artificial terrace raised some 4 m. above the floor of its
predecessor (fig. 52). The floors of the narthex and south
aisle were paved with mosaics, while opus sectile of slate and
marble was used in the north aisle and the presbyterium; a
combination of the two served as the original pavement of
the nave. The walls were covered with frescoes and, perhaps
in the apse, with wall mosaics. The apse itself had a sunken
crypt for a martyrium and a colonnaded ambulatory (fig.
53)81

The residence on the north side of the basilica was enlarged,

bu t remained at the lower level. A new baptistery (fig. 54) was
constructed not long after the basilica , but it too retained its
position on the level of the now buried 4th-century church. A
well preserved mosaic floor surrounded the large baptismal
pool, and the walls were adorned with scenes from the life of
Christ and portraits of the four evangelists, all in fresco
(fig. 55).82
The Huns under Attila may have raided Stobi in A.D. 447
and the Ostrogoths, under the leadership of Theodoric,
captured the city in A.D. 479. 83 Evidence of the destruction
that may be associated with the Gothic raid may be seen in the
House of the Fuller,84 possibly in the Episcopal Basilica,85 and
elsewhere. 86
In the Episcopal Basilica an extensive remodelling late in the
5th or early in the 6th century transformed the appearance
of the damaged church. The side aisles were narrowed by the
addition of screen-and-post barriers, the bases ofwhich were
marble seats taken from the theater. New mosaics were laid
in the narthex and south aisle, while in the nave the severely
damaged south side was repaired with large sandstone slabs.
Near the east end of the south aisle a vaulted tomb was built
for a high dignitary, perhaps the Bishop Philip who was
called OLK0c56fA,0~ of the church in an inscription on the lintel
of the entrance to the nave from the narthex. 87 And in the
baptistery a thin layer of lime plaster was laid over the fresco
and was painted in simple geometric designs and a few
figured compositions (e .g., a cross flanked by torches
covered the crowded figured composition of the NE
conch).88
An earthquake in A.D. 518, which brought destruction to
many parts of the Empire, may also have struck Stobi.
Destruction levels in the House of the Fuller and other parts
of the city may be associated with that natural disaster.89
The mid-to-late 6th century appears to have been a time
of steady decline in the fortunes of Stobi. Repairs to floors
in the Episcopal Basilica and baptistery show a lack of
concern for their appearance: mosaics were repaired with
bricks, stone slabs, or merely cement. 90 There is no evidence
of new, monumental construction, nor any hint of general
prosperity.
At some time in the second half of the 6th century the
inhabitants of Stobi withdrew, and the city lay largely
abandoned. The populace may have retired to more remote
mountainous areas as the Slavic peoples advanced south
ward; Stobi, after all, lay within what is still the principal
natural corridor connecting the middle Danubian region
with the Aegean lands. Either this new ethnic group, or the
remnants of the local population, or (perhaps most likely) a

44

sequential combination of the two, ransacked the deserted

town. A burial crypt in the south terrace wall of the Episcopal
Basilica was broken into and its contents removed, and the
mosaic floor of the baptistery was crudely hacked open so
that the lead pipe that had brought water to the piscina could
be ripped OUt. 91 Windblown dust then accumulated in the
crypt, in the trench of the pipeline, and inside structures
throughout the city. Dust reached a depth of ca. 40 cm. over
the floor of the baptistery before the baptistery itself, the
basilica, and other buildings collapsed, probably shaken
down by yet another earthquake. Only a few people were
caught in the final catastrophe; they may have been
"squatters" or merely nearby residents still seeking valuables
in the abandoned buildings.92 The latest coins found in the
dust and below or within the destruction debris date to the
reign ofJustin II, A.D. 565- 578, the terminus post quem for
the end of Stobi as an urban center. 93
There is some evidence for post-destruction occupation of
Stobi. Crude residences or "huts" were reported by early
excavators as having been found above the debris or in the
ruins of the Episcopal Basilica, the Central Basilica, and
elsewhere. A wall of stones and earth mortar, perhaps partof
a sheepfold, has been found SE ofthe baptistery, and a Slavic
cemetery covered part of the Civil and North Basilicas. 94 But
the occupation was partial and sporadic: there was no revival
of the urban community in medieval or modern times.
Basil II defeated a military garrison at Stobi in A.D. 10 14, by
which time the ancient Erigon river had already acquired its
Slavic name Crna ("black" or "dark").95 Evidence of some
activity at that time has been found in the theater and in the
area of the inner city wall,96 but no trace of actual settlement
exists, unless the burials cited above can be dated so late. The
garrison to which Cedrenus refers was probably as tempo
rary as those of the First World War, which left traces as well,
ranging from slit trenches and rifle cartridges to buttons
from military uniforms. Finally, we may mention the bridge
across the Crna, piers of which may still be seen. The bridge is
probably contemporary with the kalderma roadway that
crossed the deserted site during the Turkish domination .97
Stobi even by that time may have earned the name Pusto
Gradsko, "Deserted Town," by which the area was known
when it was visited by Leon Heuzey in the late 19th century.98
The strategic im portance of this land at the confluence of the
Varder and Crna for military purposes seems to have
remained high over the millennia, and one might have
supposed that it would retain a similar importance for
commerce. And yet, after its abandonment late in the 6th
century, there was first only temporary, partial reoccupation
followed for more than a millennium only by occasional
military encampments or more ephemeral visitors. We might

W I S E MAN

Slobi, Macedonia

well wonder why a site with such obvious advantages

indeed, advantages that had been exploited in the past for
nearly a millennium - should have come to be so neglected.
Environmental changes, I believe, were a major contributing
factor to the decision on the part of the earlier inhabitants not
to rebuild Stobi after the late 6th-century earthquake. The
region, as Robert L. Folk has demonstrated, became increas
ingly xeric during the first six centuries of our era. 99 The
deteriorating climatic conditions are reflected in the erosion
of the banks, the landslides, and the devastating inundations
along the Crna river that proved to be so catastrophic in the
late 3rd and 4th centuries. We may note, incidentally, that
abandoning the strip along the Crna and the construction of
the new inner city wall did not stop the floods. After the
abandonment of the city riverine deposits of sand , silt, and
clay built up against and eventually covered the inner city
wall. The Crna, indeed, continued to flood almost annually
until a dam was constructed upstream in 1969.100
The former inhabitants of Stobi, then , would have had
several negative factors to consider before rebuilding Stobi
after its destruction in the late 6th century. The unsettled
times must have made the strategically situated town
especially vulnerable to marauding forces. At the same time,
its importance in the prefecture of Illyricum had been
diminished since the creation ofJustiniana Prima (modem
CariCin Grad) in the 53os.101 In the late 6th and 7th centuries
the region was at its dryest, and agriculture would have
required extensive irrigation. 102 What is more, the Crna was
still an uncontrollable and destructive river. The earthquake
that we suggest destroyed the city in the late 6th century may
have been the "last straw" for the populace. 103 It certainly was
not an isolated occurrence, for we know that the region of
Stobi has been tectonically active throughout historical times.
The demise of Stobi thus may be seen as resulting from a
combination of social conflict and environmental changes.
The interaction of the inhabitants ofStobi with other peoples
and with their environment, as they changed over the years,
may be discerned throughout the archaeological record. It is
in that record, with the aid of the few written documents that
have been preserved, that we may hope eventually to read,
and perhaps even understand, the social history of this
ancient land and people.

45

4
5

6
7
8

10
11
12

J. G. von Hahn, "Reise von Beograd nach Salonik,"

DenkschrWein,phil.-hist. Kl. I I , pt. 2 (1861) 175,231-236;
Leon Huezey, "Decouverte des Ruines de Stobi," RA n.s.
26, pt. II (1873) 25-42.
On publications dealing with investigations at Stobi
published before 1973 see Zika Radosevie, "The Stobi
Bibliography," inJames Wiseman, ed., Studies in the
Antiquities ofStobi I (University of Texas at Austin and the
National Museum ofTiwv Veles: Beograd 1973)
233-268. A history of the excavations and other
investigations at Swbi, with additions to the bibliography
justcited, will be published by James Wiseman in volume I
of the series entitled Stobi (forthcoming, Princeton
University Press). Preliminary reports on results of the
bi-national Project are by James Wiseman and Djordje
Mano-Zissi, "Excavations at Stobi, 1970," AJA 75 (1971)
395-4 I I; "Excavations at Stobi, 197 1," AJA 76 (1972)
4 0 7-4 24 ; "Excavations atStobi, 1972," AJA 77 (1973)
391-403; "ExcavationsatStobi, 1973-1974,"jFA I
(1974) 117- 148 ; "Stobi : A City of Ancient Macedonia,"
JFA 3 (1976) 269-302; and by James Wiseman , "Stobi in
Yugoslavian Macedonia: Archaeological Excavations and
Research, I 977-78,"jFA 5 (197 8) 391-429. These
reports will be referred to hereafter as W-MZ (1971),
(197 2), (1973), (1974) , (1976), and Wiseman (1978)
respectively. Studies in the Antiquities ofStobi I (cited at the
beginning of this footnote); II,James Wiseman , ed.
(Boston University and the National Museum ofTitov
Veles : Beograd 1975); and III, Blaga Aleksova and James
Wiseman , eds. (Macedon ian Academy of Arts and Sciences
and the National Museum ofTitov Veles: Skopje 1981)will
be cited hereafter as Studies I, I I, and I II (the series is
distributed by Princeton University Press.)
The American-Yugoslav Project of 1970- 198 I will
hereafter be referred to as the Project. The Project was
directed by James Wiseman (1970- 1981) jointly with
Djordje Mano-Zissi (1970-1975), National Museum of
Beograd and the University of Beograd, and Blaga
Aleksova (1976- 1981), University of Cyril and Methodius
in Skopje. The principal funding came from the Foreign
Cu rrency Program of the Smithsonian Institution, the
National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford
Foundation, the Kress Foundation, and the Socialist
Republic of Macedonia, to all of whom we are sincerely
grateful. The Project was sponsored by the National
Museum ofTitov Veles, the University of Texas at Austin
(1970- 1973), and Boston University (1974- 1981).
W-MZ (1974) 120.
An earlier, very brief overview of the results of the Project
by the author of this article is "Stobi, 1970- 197T A
Review," in Studies III, 133-146.
Livy xxxix .53. 16.
Livy xxxiii.193
The prehistoric material at Stobi has been studied by V.
Sanev who will publish a report on his work in the
forthcoming final publications (supra n. 2). On the deposit
from the theater, see W-MZ (1976) 278, and S. ValastroJr. ,
E. Mott Davis, and Alejandra G. Varela, "University of
Texas at Austin Radiocarbon Dates XI," Radiocarbon 19
(1977) 323 (sampleTx- 2 3 18 = Stobi 57 X 75)
Ivan Mikulcic, "Some New Facwrs in the HistoryofStobi,"
Studies III , 216-2 '7; Djordje Mano-Zissi, "K pitanju
stratigrafije u Stobima," Zbornik Narodnog Muzeja u
Beogradu (1958-1959) 355-357; idem, "Stratigraphic
Problems and the Urban Development ofSwbi ," Studies I
187-188.
Wiseman (1978)412-413.
W-MZ(1972)411-412.
Ibid. 412 ; W-MZ (1973) 391; Mano-Zissi (supra n . 9) in
Studies I, 191-200.

13 W-MZ (1971) 408; W-MZ (1972) 408-411.

14 Michael H . Crawford, 'The Stobi Hoard of Roman
Republican Denarii," Studies I, 1-21.

15 Ibid. 8; W-MZ (1972) 41 I; SIG 3 , 700 and 710.

16 Roben L. Folk, "The Geologic Framework of Stobi,"

Studies I, 15
17 I van MikulCic, "Swbi - (Peristerija) - Kasnohelenisticki

grobovi," Archeoloski Pregled 8 (1966) I 13- 114; Viktorija

Sokolovska, "Investigations in the House of Peristerias,"

Studies II, 135-136.

18 W-MZ(1976)281-282.
19 Reports on excavations in the West Cemetery appeared in
each of the first five preliminary reports (supra n. 2), and
the final publication of the cemetery is now being prepared
by Al B. Wesolowsky , who supervised those excavations.
On the Hellenistic burials see especially W-MZ (1976) 278
281; I van MikulCic, "The West Cemetery : Excavations in
1965," Studies I, 61-95 (especially Graves 12 and 35); and
the study by Wesolowsky (infra n. 20). The Hellenistic
burial in the theater is cited in Elizabeth Gebhard, "The
Theater at Swbi: A Summary," Studies III, 13.
20 AI B. Wesolowsky, "Burial Customs in the West Cemetery,"
Studies 1,98-142 (on the grave fire, see p. 135).
21 Salvatore Valastro,Jr., and Al B. Wesolowsky, "The
Carbon-14 Dating Program of the West Cemetery," Studies
III , 301 -3 10
22 W-MZ (1971) 408. Hoth imported wares and Macedonian
gray wares are present; see Virginia Anderson-Swjanovic,
"Cultural Implications of Pottery at Swbi," Studies III, 48,
and references cited there.
23 Ibid. 49.
24 LivYX!v.29 13- 14
25 On Roman soldiers in Macedonia at this time and on the
formation of the province, see Fanoula Papazoglou,
"Quelques aspects de l'histoire de la province de
Macedoine ," ANRW II, 7.1, pp. 301-308.
26 W-MZ (1973) 391 - 393; Mano-Zissi (supra n. 8) in Studies I ,
197- 201 ; Wiseman (197 8 ) 393-394.
27 W-MZ(1973)4 02 .
28 W-MZ (1974) 148; James Wiseman and Djordje
Georgievski, "Wall Decoration at Stobi," Studies II, 167
16 9.
29 W-MZ (1973) 397; Wiseman and Georgievski (supra n. 28)
in Studies 11,169-170.
30 Gebhard (supra n. 19).
3 I The terminus ante quem is provided by the date of deposits
overlying a paved street on the city side of the wall: W-MZ
(1972) 413; W-MZ (1974) 127- 128 and Fig. 8.
32 Valastro and Wesolowsky (supra n. 21) in Studies III , 304
and Fig. 3.
33 W-MZ (1973) 394-397; W-MZ (1974) 126-128; Wiseman
and Georgievski (supra n. 28) in Studies II , 169-174.
Carolyn S. Snively, who supervised much ofthe excavation
of the building, is preparing a detailed study of the results
of the excavation for publication in the forthcoming Stobi
series. She presented a summary ofthe results of her study
at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological I nstitute of
America in Washington, D.C., in December 1985; see the
abstract, "The Casa Romana: The Final Report," AjA 90
(1986 ).
34 As in the case of the Casa Romana, it has not yet been
possible to investigate the original construction deposits,
and the building has been only partially explored. The
principal preliminary reports of the building are W-MZ
(1974) 122- 126, and Vojislav Sanev and Sario Sariovski,
"Excavations of the Inner City Wall at Stobi, 197 2- 1974,"
Studies III, 232-234.

W I S E MAN

35 The possible relationship of C. Aelius Priscus to Claudia

Prisca, the priestess, a nd her family is discussed by the
present author in "Gods, War and Plague in the Time of
the Antonines," Studies I, 142 - 183. All three statue bases
were inscribed, but only the first found (inv. no. [-72-9)
has heretofore been published (ibid. 145- 148). The other
two bases, found two years later in 1974, read as follows.
1-74-5: f(aLOe;) AtALOe; [LEKOUV] bEi,voe;
Tov na't~pa npELOKOV

43

npL~LnLAapLov

For a recent discussion of the date by which Stobi became a

municipium, see Papazoglou (supra n. 25) 360- 361. Stobi

55

min ted its own coins at least from A.D. 69 until the reign of

Caracalla or Elagabalus: Siobodan Dusanic, "A Foundation

Type on theCoinageofthe Municipium Stobi," Revue beige

de numismatique 113 (1967) 11-29.

In trench EB79-7a, dug across the street west of the

Episcopal Basilica (fig. 39, no. 20) , pottery of the 2nd and

3rd centuries was found between surfaces 10 and I I; other

contextual m aterial included coin 79- 169, an issue of A.D.

198-217, above street surface 10 (StobiArchives : 1979

Season's Report by Carolyn S. Snively).

Gebha rd (supra n . 19) in Studies I I I, 17 - 18 (quote on p.

17)

W-MZ (1972)410; cf. Poehlman (supra n. 36) inS/udies III,

237

Mano-Zissi (supra n. 9) in Studies 1,195-197,208-209.

On both theCasa Romanaand the street,see W-MZ (1974)

128. A terminus post quem is provided by coin 74 -444 found

in the deposit below the destruction debris; it is an issue of
Vibius Trebonianus Gallus , 251-253 A.D.
Sanev and SarZovski (supra n. 34) in Studies II 1,234
Ibid.; Mano-Zissi (supra n. 47).
On Synagogue I I see especially Moe (supra n. 36) and
Wisema:n (1978) 392 - 395 and the reference cited in those
works. The mosaic is discussed in detail in Ruth Kolarik
and MomCilo Petrovski, "Technical Observations on
Mosaics at Stobi," Studies 11,66-75'
Mano-Zissi (supra n. 9) in Studies I , 194-195,209.
Ibid. , 203-205.
The Project conducted only minor excavations in these
complexes, which were uncovered, for the most part, by
excavators in the 1920S and 1930s; see James Wiseman ,
Stobi, a Cuide to the Excavations (University of Texas and
National Museum ofTitov Veles: Beograd 1973) 40-49
and the bibliography cited there. See also Sokolovska
(supra n. 17) in Studies II, 123- 137. The buildings have
been recently restudied as part of a doctoral dissertation by
Frederick P. Hemans, "Late Antique Residences at Stobi,"
Boston University, January 1986. An expanded version of
that study will form pa rt of a volu me in the Stobi series
referred to in note 2.
Gebhard, (supra n. 19) in Studies III, 17

56
57

Ibid ., 18.
Ibid., W-MZ (1976) 274- 277.

44

B
1-74-6: f(aLov) AtAOv npEi:oKov

The three letters above the name in I -74-6 refer to the

authorization for setting up the statue: qJ(T]<I>L~a'tL
uno 'tf]e;) B(OUAf]e; Kat 'tou) ~(T]~OU) ,For
examples of similar expressions on inscriptions from Stobi,
see Wiseman, "A Distinguished Macedonian Family of the
Roman imperial Period," AJA 88 (1984)57 and note 8,
inscription 1 (=Stobi inv. no. 1-70- 39 and 1-77-4; I
[Ka-r]a 'to M1;av 'tfi Kpa'tLo-rn ~ouAfi Kat 'to LE[p]w'tanp
bT]~<p ; Wiseman, op.cit. above in this note in Studies I, p.
153, inscription 3 (=Stobi inv. no . 1-70-20 = SEC 17
[1960]319), line 5: tl 'yyovoe; Aa~ouoa 'tonov My~a'tL
~OuAite;; and in a dedication to Olympian Zeus, Hera, and
Savior Apollo in N. Vulic, Spomenik, 7 1 (1931) 47, no. 109,
lines 2 -4: 'Iou~EY'tLa La~LVL I [avTj '\jrr]<I>Lo]~a'tL KaeLEpO~fvr]
uno 'tfje; I [~OuAfje; jmlT]OEY 'ta aya"-ILa'ta . The three
inscriptions cited date to the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.
36 The column had been reused in the atrium of the Central
Basilica and was discovered in the excavations of 1931. The
inscription has been discussed by a number of scholars and
the bibliography is too lengthy to repeat here; see Martin
Hengel, "Die Synagogeinschrift von Stobi," Zeitschriftfur
die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 57 (1966) 145- 183, and
William Poehlman, "The Polycharmos Inscription and
Synagogue I at Stobi," Studies II 1,235-246. On the
excavation of the structure, which we may refer to as
Synagogue I, see W-MZ (197 I) 406-410; W-MZ (1972)
4 10 -4 11 ; W-MZ (1974) 146-148; Wiseman (197 8) 393
395; Dean L. Moe, "The Cross and the Menorah,"
Archaeology 30 (1977) 148- 157; and the article by
Poehlman cited in this note.
37 The excavations in the theater have been directed since the
inception of the Pr~ject by Professor Elizabeth R. Gebhard
of the University of Illinois at Chicago, whose final study of
the building will appear as a volume in the forthcoming
Stom. series. Accounts of the excavations have appeared in
each of the preliminary reports cited in note 2; see also the
review by Gebhard already cited (supra n. 19) in Studies III,
13-27. Earlier publications on the theater are listed by
Radosevic (supra n. 2).
38 Elizabeth Gebhard, "The ;:,cenae Frons in the Theater at
Stobi," Studies Ill, 197-203; Viktorija Sokolovska, "Stobi
in the Light of Ancient Sculpture," Studies III, 97-98.
Suggested identification of statue: E. Gebhard.
39 The inscriptions have been studied by the present author
who will publish them in full in the forthcoming Stobi
volume on the theater (supra n. 37). A reading of the seat
inscriptions uncovered by Balduin Saria, primarily in
kerkides I -2, were published by him, "Die Inschriften des
Theaters von Stobi,"JOAl32 (1940) 5-34. I have recently
discussed some of the seat inscriptions (supra n. 35) (1984)
5 6 7-5 82 .
40 Elizabeth Gebhard, "Protective Devices in Roman
Theaters," Studies II, 43-63.
41 See also Gebhard (supran. 19) in Studies III, 15-17.
42 Pliny Ncu. Hist. iv. 1034. Citizens ofStobi were registered in
the Roman voting tribes Aemilia and Tromentina, as

several inscriptions attest.

Stobi, Macedonia

45
46
47
48

49
50

5I

52
53
54

Building B: W-MZ (1976) 285-287; Wiseman (197 8) 398.

Building D: Wiseman (1978) 408-411. Building E:
Wiseman (1978) 425-426; Stobi Archives , Season's Report
for 1979 by Z. Beldedovski. The construction date is
unknown, except that it preceded the mid-5th century
construction of the baptistery.
59 The province is named only in the Notitia Dignitatum, Or. I,
5, 14 Evidence for the positions taken in the first two
paragraphs of this section is discussed in greater detail by
the present author in "The City in Macedonia Secunda,"
Villes et peulement dans l'lllyricum protollyzantin" (Ecole
fran<;:aise de Rome: Rome, 1984) 289-294. Cf. Fanula
Papazoglu, "La Macedoine Salutaire et la Macedoine
Seconde," Bulletin de la Classedes Lettres et des Sciencesmorales
etpolitiquesde l'Acadbnieroyalede Belgique 42 (1956) 15- 124,
and idem, Makedonski Cradovi u Rimsko Doba (Skopje 1957)
235- 2 38 . Papazoglu places Stobi in Macedonia Prima and
not in Macedonia Salutaris. Angeliki Konstantakopoulou,
in a recent article, "'H 'EnapXLa MaKE{)ovLa SaIutaris.
LW~OAT] o-rT] MEAnT] 'tf]e; ~lOLKT]'tLKfte; 'OpyavWOT)e; -rou
'IAAupLKou," in ~wbwVT] 1 ('Iwavvlva 1981) 85- 100,
offers persuasive evidence that Macedonia Salutaris extended
further to the northeast than Papazoglu believed, and that it
included not only Stobi, but Bargala as well.
58

47

60 Th. Mommsen, "Verzeichniss der romischen Provinzen

aufgesetzt um 297," in his Cesammelte Schri[ten V (Berlin
19(8) ::,Ro. Konstantakopoulou, (supra n. 59) 88-9 1,
suggests that the province was formed primarily for
military purposes in 379/380, when Goths were making
incursions into the region and when Theodosius may have
made one or twO visits to Stobi. The hypothesis that
Theodosius visited Stobi in 379/ 380 is based on trips of
Theodosius between Sirmium and Thessaloniki, as
recorded in the Codex Theodosianus, and is integral to a
now discredited argument by Rudolf Egger th at an
inscription found in Drenovo, ca. 20 km south ofStobi,
belongs to the base of a horse-and-rider statue of the father
ofTheodosius I, dedicated at Stobi by the emperor
himself: Egger, "Der Erste Theodosius," Byzantion 5
(19 29- 1930) 9- 32 (the visits, with references, are
mentioned on p. 28). The inscription, like the reused
architectural pieces found in the same building (a church)
at Drenovo, are not from Stobi, but from Euristos , the
ancient town that lies on the outskirts of Ore novo; see Ivan
MikulCic, "Topograf~a na Eud(da)rist," Macedoniae Acta
Archaeologica I (1975) 173- 197, and Ivanka Nikolajevic,
"Stobi and Fifth Century Architectural Sculpture in
Macedonia," in Studies III, 186- 191. Although
Theodosius may have visited Stobi in 379, or 380, or in
both years , we may be certain only of the visit in 388 ; see the
next note.
61 Codex Theodosi.anus 16+2, 16.5.15.
62 Hierocles Synecdemus 7-8 (ed. Wesseling, p. 391). For a
different view of the founding of Macedonia Secunda see
Fanula Papazoglu , Mak.edonski Gradovi u Rimsko Doba
(Skopje 1957) 91 -92, who argues that Macedonia Salutaris
ceased to exist and that Macedonia Secunda came into
existence only late in the 5th century. A.
Konstantakopoulou, in recent publications, agrees with the
early abolishment of Macedonia Salutaris on the grounds
that after the Gothic threat had passed it was no longer
needed (supra n. 59, pp . 95-96), but suggests 449-451 as
a terminus ante quem for the creation of Macedonia Secunda;
see her dissertation , 'IO"toPU<ll ffWYPU<P(U tiil:; MUKfl'lOV(UI:;
(401:;-601:;) (flUVVfVU 1984)74- 8 1.
63 See the discussion by Wiseman (supra n. 59).
64 Sources for the bishops named in Table 2 are collected in
Wiseman (supra n. 35) in Studies I, 143-144.
65 Wiseman (1978) 397':407 and references cited there.
There are two layers of fresco on the south wall and two
layers of mosaic pavement in the nave. Excavation of this
early church by a Yugoslav team has continued under the
direction of Blaga Aleksova, who is the author of two
reports that appeared in 1985: "The Old Episcopal Basilica
at Stobi - Archaeological Excavations and Researches,
19R 1- 19R4'" ZbomikJilozoJski Jakultet na univerzitetot
Skopje (Skopje 19R5) 43-72 (in Macedonian and English),
and "The Old Episcopal Basilica at Stobi," Archaeologia
lugoslal'ica 22-23 (1982-1983; published in Beograd,
19R5) 50 - 62 .
66 The latest coin (79- 127) associated with the construction
of a part of this building is dated to A.D. 383- 395 (a salus
rei publicae issue); the coin was found within the mortarofa
collapsed wall. The latest coin (78-632) below the floor of
the south aisle, however, dates to the 360s or 370S A.D.,
which may provide a terminus post quem for the earlier
mosaics and fresco .
67 Wiseman (1978)408-413.
68 The earliest floor, a pavement of baked bricks set in a white
lime mortar, seems to have been laid no later than the
mid-4th century A.D.; see now Hemans (supra n . 54). On
the oratorium , see Djordje Mano-Zissi, "Stukatura u
Stobima," Zbornik Narodnog Muzeja u Beogradu 3 (1962)
101- 107; cf. Wiseman (1978) 426-427.
69 W-MZ (1974) 13 2 - 133

70 Gebhard (supra n. 19) in Studies II I, 18-19.

7 I W-MZ (1974) 12 I - 128. The catastrophic landslide was

first recognized by Robert L. Folk and is discussed in detail
in "Geologic Urban Hindplanning: An.Example from a
Hellenistic-Byzantine City, Stobi, Yugoslavian
Macedonia," Environmental Geology I (1975) 14 - 17
72 W-J\1Z (J 974) 12 I - 126; Sanev and Sarzovski (supra n . 34)
in Studies I II, 232 - 2 34.
73 The mosaics at Stobi were studied by Ruth Kolarik for her
Ph.D. dissertation, "The Floor Mosaics from Stobi," which
was accepted by Harvard University in 1981 and forms the
basis for several sections to be published in the
forthcoming Stobi series. See also Kolarik and Petrovski
(supra n. 5 I) in Studies II, 65- 106, and Ruth E. Kolarik,
"The Floor Mosaics of Eastern IIIyricum," Rapportspresmtes
au Xe congres international d'archeologie chretienne

(Thessalonica 1980) 173-203. On the chronology and the

architecture, see now the dissertation by F P. Hemans
(supra n. 54).
74 Konstantin Petrov, "Istrazuvanja na Vodovodniot Sistem
vo Ranovizantiskiot Stobi," GodiJen Zbomik na FilozoJskiot
Fakultet Skopje 19 (1967) 269- 306.
75 The street was partially cleared in 1979 by FP. Hemans.
76 I n his paper presented at this symposium.
77 A structure that may be a third extra mural basilica has been
partially excavated not far to the east of Stobi beyond the
Crna. That building, known as the Basilica Trans-frigon,
the Palikura Basilica, and the Cemetery Basilica have been
studied by Carolyn S. Snively; see her "The Early Christian
Basilicas ofStobi : a Study of their Form, Function, and
Location," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation (University of
Texas at Austin 1979) 182- 249 , which wil.! form the basis
for her publication in the forthcoming Stoui series.
78 The date of the Cemetery Basilica, which was uncovered
du ring World War I, is based in part on the fact that a
mosaic in the church was virtually identical with the first
mosaic in the south aisle of the Episcopal Basilica, which
was laid about the middle of the 5th century; see Kolarik,
1980 (supra n. 73) 185. Some burials in the immediate
proximity of the Cemetery Basilica date to the late 4th or
early 5th century A.D.; see W-MZ (1974) 134.
79 Wesolowsky (supra n. 20) in Studies I, 104,129.
80 See especially Moe (supra n. 36) and Wiseman (1978)
39 2 -395.
81 See Wiseman (1978) 413-42 I and the references cited
there. See also the studies of particular aspects of the
basilica in Studies I I I by Blaga Aleksova, Vera Bitrakova
Grozdanova, Ruth Kolarik, and Carolyn S. Snively.
82 On the baptistery see W-MZ (1972) 422-424; W-MZ
(1973) 398-399; William B. Dinsmoor,jr., "The
Baptistery: Its Roofing and Related Problems," Studies II,
15-27; Wiseman (1978) 424-426. Caroline Hemans and
D. Georgievski, with the aid of their assistants, have pieced
together several compositions of the original fresco in the
baptistery; they will be published in the forthcoming Stoui
series.
83 Ostrogoths : Malcus frag. 18; Muller, FHG IV, 125. On the
Huns (supra n. 84)
84 Ivan MikulCic postulates a raid by Attila and the Huns in
447 as the occasion for the destruction: (supra n. 9) in
Studies III, 2 17- 22 I. Hemans (supra n. 54) suggests that a
H unnic raid in 447 resulted in widespread destruction and
was followed by the principal 5th-century phase of
construction throughout the city.
85 The second major phase of the Episcopal Basilica and the
Baptistery , discussed below, followed severe damage to
both structures. New mosaic floors were laid in the narthex
and south aisle , but the contextual evidence is too meager
to provide a date more refined than the late 5th or early 6th
century; see Ruth Kolarik, "The Episcopal BasilicaatStobi:
The Phases of Mosaic Decoration," Studies II 1,67-68, who
more recently has suggested that the remodelling followed
damage in an earthquake of 518 (discussed below, and
infra n. 89) .

W I S E MAN

86 Mano-Zissi (supra n. 9) in Studies I, 2 12 - 224.

87 The inscription is Stobi inv. no. I -70-41 and was
originally published by Balduin Saria, "Novi Nalasci u
Episkopskoj Crkvi u Stobima," Glasnik Skopskog Naucnog
Drustva (1933) 25- 26. On the later phaseofthe basilica,see
Wiseman (1978) 413-424 (restored plan in fig. 4). There is
some disagreement among the Stobi staff regarding the
date of the inscription. Since the lintel was broken and
repaired in antiquity, it is conceivable that it was a part of
the original construction on the terrace. In that case.
Bishop Philip would belong to the 3rd quarter of the 5tl1
century. The break and repair might also have occurred
during the course of Phase I l. The evidence will be
discussed in detail in the final publication.
88 W-MZ(1974) 145- 146.
89 Marcellinus Comes 100; the fragment makes no specific
mention of Stobi. MikulCic. who originally considered tl1e
earthquake in 5 18 the likely cause of a destruction level in
the House of Fuller (see afrud W-MZ [1974] J 39). has more
recently argued for a somewhat later , unrecorded , and
minor local earthquake: MikulCic, (supra n. 9) 221-223.
Kolarik (supra n. 73) (1980) 194 , has recently suggested
that the new mosaics in the south aisle and the narthex of
the Episcopal Basilica may have been laid after the
earthquake of 518. The new technique for obtaining
radiocarbon dates from lime mortar will be applied to
mortar from the basilica and may provide some assistance
in refining the actual ch ronology of the phases of the
basilica. The radiocarbon dating technique was
successfully developed for analysis of materia l from Stobi;
see Robert L. Folk and S. Valastro.]r., "Radiocarbon
Dating of Mortar at Stobi," Studies II. 29- 39
90 See Kolarik (supra n. 85) in Studies 111. 69.
9 1 W-MZ (1973) 398-399.
92 Windblown dust eventually covered even buildings and
streets on the top of the ridge; see the discussion by Folk
(supra n . 71) 20- 2 I. The dead found in the debris are
discussed by Wiseman (supra n . 59).
93 Coins 7 1 -7 08 .7 1-47 1. and 7 2 -6 3; see W-MZ (1973) 398 .
note 26.
94 Blaga Aleksova, "Medieval Craves in the North Basilica,"
Studies I II. 253 - 261. Professor Aleksova dates the burials
to the 9th- I Ith centuries.
95 Cedrenus, CSHB 2, 709A .
9 6 W-MZ (1972) 417; W-MZ (1973) 394.
97 W-MZ (1972) 4 12. An uncorrected radiocarbon date of
1820 A.D. 40 was obtained from a wooden crosstie in tl1e
pavement: S. Valastro,] r., E. Mott Davis, and Alejandra C.
Varela, "University of Texas at Austin Radiocarbon Dates
X," Radiocarbon 17 (1975) 98 , sample TX-1349 (Stobi
R-7 1 - 2 3)
98 Heuzey (supra n. I) 34.
99 Folk (supra n. 71) 17- 2 1.
100 W-MZ (1972) 412.
101 See the discussion in Wiseman (supra n. 59), with sources
and secondary works there in notes 7-9.
102 Folk (supra n. 99).
103 The survivors of Stobi. along with the bishop, may not have
travelled far to resettle in the late 6th and 7th centuries;
e.g., they may have settled just several kilometers upstream
near the modern village ofRosoman where Late Antique
remains have been noted. Such a circumstance might
explain why two bishops of Stobi are known from the 7th
century (see Table 2), after the abandonment and
destruction of the city itself; i.e., the community still
existed, but in a different location.

Stobi, Macedonia

49

Table 1
A summary of investigations at Stobi

J .G. von Hahn visits the site

1861

Leon Heuzey visits the site

Reconnaissance by Axel von Premerstein and N. Vulic
French and Serbian soldiers dig defensive trenches
German soldiers uncover parts of three basilicas
Excavations by the National Museum of Beograd, directed by Balduin Saria and VR. Petrovic
Excavations by the Museum of Prince Paul, directed by Jozo Petrovic and Djordje Mano-Zissi
Conservation activities, directed by Krum Tomovski
Minor excavation and conservation by the Archaeological Museum of Skopje
Conservation and reconstruction by the Conservation Institute of Macedonia, with minor
excavation jointly with the Archaeogical Museum of Skopje
American-Yugoslav joint project, sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin (until
1973), Boston University, and the National Museum ofTitov Veles, and directed by Djordje
Mano-Zissi, Blaga Aleksova, and James Wiseman
Excavations by the National Museum of Titov Veles, directed by Blaga Aleksova

Table 2
Selected dates and historical events at Stobi

3rd century B.C.?

Stobi in existence

197 B.C., 183 B.C.

Philip V operating in region; known as an "old city"

167 B.C.

Stobi becomes salt emporium for third mens of Macedonia

Roman province of Macedonia created

119 B.C.

Roman troops battle Scordisci near Stobi

Late 1St century B.C.

Early 1St century A.D.

Stobi expands greatly in area; becomes a municipium; enjoys the ius Italicum

69

Stobi begins to mint its own coins

50

W I S EM A N

Stobi, Macedonia

2nd century

Jewish community in existence; theater built

Early 3rd century

Stobi ceases to mint coins

Late 3rd century

Stobi struck by at least one earthquake; lower city flooded; Goths operating in the region

Budius, Bishop of Stobi, attends Council of Nicaea

ca. 386

Stobi becomes capital (?) of new province of Macedonia Salutaris (later Macedonia Secunda)

Theodosius issues decrees at Stobi

Late 4th century

Theater closed; large church built; catastrophic landslide and flood; Alaric and the

Visigoths in region (395)

447

Possible H unnic raid

Nicolaus, Bishop of Stobi, attends Council ofChalcedon

Mid-5th century

New Episcopal Basilica built above earlier church; Christian church replaces synagogue;

Cemetery Basilica built

479

Theodoric captures Stobi

Late 5th
Early 6th century

Philip is Bishop at Stobi (?)

Early 6th century

Earthquake strikes Stobi (5 18?)

535-545

Province of Macedonia Secunda dissolved (?)

5 6 9-57 0

(terminus post quem)

Stobi abandoned ; vandalized; struck by earthquake; Slavs arrive

Late 6th
7th? centuries

Sporadic partial reoccupation

680

loannes, Bishop of Stobi, attends Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople

Magarites, Bishop of Stobi, attends Second Trullanum Synod

101 4

Basil II destroys a military garrison at Stobi

W I S E MAN

Slohl, Mo(pdnnia

75

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50 KILOMETERS
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Map showing the localion of Slobi (Drawing by B.O, Davis)

W I S E MAN

Slobi, Macedonia

32

~~-

-
/

39,

' +

Map of Stobi,
I, Museum
2, North Basilica
3, Small Residences
4, Civil Basilica
5' Little Bath
6, Central Basilica and Synagogues
7, House of Psalms
8, Central Fountain

9, Large Bath
10,
IL

12,

13,
14,
15,
16,

Via Principalis Inferior

House of Peristeria
Via Theodosia
House of Parthenius
Theodosian Palace
Via Principalis Superior
House of the Fuller

The map was drawn by C. Salit, FP. Hemans and E, Scull and is based on
an earliersurveyanddrawingby Paul Huffman (1971 land David B. Peck
(1972) with additions by Charles Ehrhorn (1973) and Hemans (1974).

17, Prison A rea

18, Episcopal Residence
19, Semicircular Court
2() ,
Episcopal Basilica
21 , Baptistery
22, Via Sacra
23, Porta Heraclea
24, Theater

CONTOUR IN1'ERVAL. 0.50

25,

26,
27,
28,
29,
30,
31,
32.

m.

EB

Casino
Via Axia
Inner City Wall
Casa Romana
East City wall and Turkish Bridge
West Cemetery
Cemetery Basilica
Palikura Basilica

77

-------

40. Stobi . two silver denarii from the coin hoard found below the synagogue.
The coin on the left. in\'. no. 74-948. is one of several issued by C. Cassius.
the coin on the right. 74-9:16, an issue of M. Porcius Laeca. dates to 125

B.C and is the latest coin in the hoard.

42 .

Stobi, molded stucco panels and pilasters in the Casa Romana. View of
the upper part of the south wall.

4 I.

35 m

Stobi. schematic drawing of structures near the Crna River (Drawing by

F.P. Hemans)

W I S E MAN

Stobi, Macedonia

43. Stobi. street paved with flagstones between the Cas a Roman a (left) and
the East City Wall (right); view to north . The lower deposits (first "step,"
in center) of the late 3rd century were ca pped by a stratum of debris .
then riverine deposits , visible in the scarp of the trench. The catastrophic
mudslide is represented by the stratum that crosses the wall of the Casa
Romana.

44 Stobi, the Inner City Wall crossing the large building SW of the Casa
Romana . North is at the topofthe photo. The large mosaic floor is visible
in trenches to the right of the wall. (Photo from a tethered balloon by J.
Wilson Myers)

45 Stobi, theater, Episcopa l Basilica complex, a nd environs. North is at the

top of the photo. The House of the Fuller is located in the upper left.
(Photo from a tethered balloon by J. Wilson Myers)

79

4 6 . Stobi. theater. part of the c,'1vea from the orchestra, view to SW

47

Stobi, mosaic floor pavement (partial) of the 4th-century synagogue found below the Central Basilica. North is at the top of the photo.

80

W I S E MAN

Slobi, Macedonia

,,0

'1,

....i:1..

~l lC'=" ~==~~~~~~
,
20m
--~----~------

48.

49.

SLObi. plan or early structures in the area of the Episcopal Basilica (Drawing F.P. Hemans)

\\

SLObi. part of mural on the north wall of the 4th-century church below the Episcopal Basilica (The photo is of a water color rendering by OJ. Georgievski)

81

:>0. Stobi. part of the 4th-century church below the Episcopal Basilica. The
north aisle is in the foreground. Immediately beyond the meter stick is
the stvlobate for an Ionic column base (part of the north colonnade). The
presbyterium mosaics and beddings for ~ seclile are left, center; to the
right is the mosaic of the nave.

51. Stobi. street paved with theater seats near the Episcopal Residence. View
to the SW. The street is visible in the aerial photo published in Figure 45.

.(

....

52.

Stobi, restored plan of the Episcopal Basilica complex. Phase I I (early 6th
century) (Drawing by FP. Hemans)

,0'

82

53.

54

W I S E MAN

Stobi, Mocedonin

SLObi. sunken apse of the Episcopal Basilica from the presbyterium. The standing column was re-erected incorrectly before the Second World War.

Stobi , baptistery south of the Episcopal Basilica, view from the SE.

55. SLObi, part of fresco from the NE conch of the baptistery. The figure in the center may be a representation of Matthew the Evangelisl.