Viminacium Museum in eastern Serbia displays many unique items, including complete Roman tintinnabulum

The newly opened Viminacium Museum in eastern Serbia has over 1,700 objects excavated at that ancient site, many of which are unique items, such as a complete tintinnabulum, says the director of the Archaeological Institute, Snezana Golubovic.

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"The museum is located on the site. That was our idea - to be able to show what we have excavated and researched at the location itself," Golubovic told Tanjug.

The recently opened museum is located within the Archaeological Scientific Research Center Viminacium and occupies 402 square meters on three levels. The permanent exhibition is conceptualized thematically and illustrates numerous aspects of the life of the Roman Viminacium, from the founding of this military camp and settlement, until the end of the ancient era.

"When you come to the site, you see the remains of buildings, you don't know what you're looking at, professional guidance is needed. Now we have a museum, where we share our knowledge accumulated over the past 20 years that we have been working and exhibiting the objects we found," said Golubovic.

According to her, the permanent exhibition was designed to show all aspects of life of a person living in ancient Viminacium, from birth to death, but also some items originating from prehistory to the Middle Ages, which shows that the area was continuously inhabited.

Golubovic noted that within the complex exhibition with over 1,700 objects there are medical instruments, toys, jewelry, religious and ritual items, writing equipment, and others. Among the unique objects, Golubovic singled out the tintinnabulum, i.e. the Roman wind chime, found two years ago at Viminacium.

"The tintinnabulum is the fourth complete one found anywhere in the entire territory of the Roman Empire. They are usually found in fragments. Of course, there are also other unique items that are not found anywhere else, such as brooches, fibulas, pieces of jewelry, various decorations, ornaments," said the expert.

The Viminacium Museum also exhibits 18 busts of Roman emperors born on the soil of present-day Serbia, including Constantine the Great, Trajanus Decius, Probus (Justinian) - which were part of the exhibition and project "The Roads of the Roman Emperors".

"Some are less important, some are very important, such as Constantine. People are fascinated by it, because after their native Italy, the largest number of (Roman) emperors were born in this small territory," said Golubovic.

The ancient Viminacium was the capital of the Roman province of Moesia (present-day Serbia), the headquarters of the governor of the province, and of the camp of Legio VII Claudia Pia Fidelis. It was destroyed in the 5th century, during the Hun invasion, to be partially rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Justinian, and then fall into ruin again after the arrival of the Avars.

The museum, that is part of the Archaeological Institute, was established at the Viminacum site by decision of the Ministry of Culture in 2019. The space has beem fully equipped during the five project years, from 2021 to 2025, an effort funded by the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Institute.

(Telegraf Nauka/Tanjug)