The Epigraphic Testimonies from Timacum Maius (Eastern Moesia Superior): The Important Clues for the Character and Organization of Naissus Region

For more than ten years in a row, archaeologists of the Institute for Balkan Studies of SASA of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, in cooperation with the Ausonius Institute from Bordeaux, have been conducting archaeological research on the Roman and Byzantine settlement located in the area of the village of Niševac near Svrljig, in the Svrljiški Timok River valley. It was the first station on the Roman itinerary road between Naissus (Niš) and Trajan's colony of Ratiaria on the Danube (Archar in northwestern Bulgaria). In addition to significant architectural remains and various archaeological findings, some inscriptions in Latin and Greek are also known from this area. This bilingualism of the texts indicates the very location of Timacum Maius, which was located on a vital communication line and a linguistic and administrative interprovincial barrier. Although chronologically different, the epigraphic findings I report raise broader scientific questions about the significance of this ancient settlement and its population, especially in the early military history of the Naissus region.