A LATE ROMAN VILLA URBANA IN MARCIANOPOLIS (DEVNYA)

Between 1976-1986 in the town of Devnya (Ancient Marcianopolis, the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Secunda) a big Villa Urbana was ecavated. It covers a whole insula of the Ancient town with an area of about 4000 sq.m. The house was one-storied, apart from the south wing, which was two-storied. There were over 20 rooms at the first floor, surrounding an inner courtyard with colonade with Corinthian capitals.

The house was approached from three of the four streets running around her by means of six enrtances. Among the others, three big rooms with a total area once of over 250 square meters of multicoloured figural floor mosaics, representing mythlogical scenes and geometric, floral and animal motifs were excavated. About 180 sq. meters of mosaics survived in good condition through the ages. Among the figural motifs there are a beautiful Gorgo head, representations

of the seasons and the most fascinating - the love affairs of Jupiter, of which the rape of Ganimedes and Jupiter with Antiope are more or less intact. There were geometric floor mosaics in the main entrance corridor and the portico too. The domus was built by a rich merchant, probably of Eastern origin in early 4 th century A.D. and existed untill early 5th. Century AD, when it was destroyedd uring the first the Hunuc invasion. There was occasional later occupation of some rooms of the house - in the late 5th and 6th century AD, but of other ethnic origin. Over some part of the house a modern Museum of mosaics was build and open for the general public in 1986.
Alexander Minchev (Varna)