BULGARIAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND THE SITE OF A ROMAN EMPIRE HISTORIC BATTLE

Bulgarian archaeologists found the site of a battle which had historical importance for the ancient Rome. The ruins of the ancient Roman city of Abritus, today located outside the Northeastern Bulgarian city of Razgrad, became known in the past for being the place, where Roman Emperor Trajan Decius and his son were killed. They were the only emperors who died in a battle against barbarian invasion.

The field near the village of Dryanovets became the first site at all where a battle of the Roman Empire took place.

A coverage by the BNT reporter Maria Cherneva and the camera operator Krasimir Stoichkov, broadcast in the feature “Travel into the Past” of the BNT morning programme on 10th of August, reveals more about the challenges for the researchers.

The city of Arbitus was discovered near the Bulgarian city of Ragrad but the excavations continued because it was important to find the site of the Battle of Abritus, in which the Roman forces were defeated in the barbarian invasion of the Goths, and Roman Emperor Trajan Decius and his co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus were killed. So the site where the battle took place was found after lots of research - 15 km away from Razgrad city near the village of Dryanovets.

Georgi Dzanev, deputy leader of archaeological excavations at Abritus says that from the available archaeological and numismatic findings it is concluded that the last camp of Trajan Decius was in the area of Draynovets, and the battle itself was held in the valley of Beli Lom River.

This is the only battleground of the Roman Empire, localized for sure, he explained. Many remains of Roman arms were found in the area, stakes of military tents, knee pads, armour, parts of shields and spears. So no doubt, this is the place that Decius Trajan chose to meet the Gothic invaders.

Romans usually deployed infantry in flat terrains, without ambushes and pitfalls, but the Goths managed to entice them into the swamps.

Georgi Dzanev says that a historian Ammianus Marcellinus tells us that emperor Trajan Decius perished in a battle in a swampy area. Dzanev added that the area down the hill, before the village od Dryanovets was until recently called Buyuk puddle.

One of the worst defeats, the battle of Abritus, was a turning point for the Roman Empire, which marked the beginning of the end. In the shadow of this battle, however, the city has a long history marked by devastating invasions.

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