Poetovio - from legionary fortress to autonomous town

Poetovio (today's Ptuj) was one of the most important strategic and transport points at the junction between the Eastern Alps and the Pannonian Plain. Epigraphic monuments testify that the Legio VIII Augusta was stationed here from the beginning of the 1st century at the latest, replaced in 45/46 by the Legio XIII Gemina. After the withdrawal of the army, a civilian town was founded in Poetovio around 102 - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovio, with an area of over 120 hectares, the largest between the Adriatic and the Danube. With the exception of stone monuments, archaeological traces of the Roman army in Poetovio are very scarce. Geophysical surveys in 2015-2020 and a trench in 2020 have revealed remains on Panorama Hill that can probably be attributed to the walls of a 1st-century legionary fortress. We are interested in two key periods in the development of Poetovio: the legionary fortress and the emergence of the civilian town. The research aims to compensate for the lack of material evidence of the army's presence in Poetovio. Furthermore, we are interested in how the area of the legionary fortress was transformed into a town and how the many supra-regional functions that Poetovio assumed as a large autonomous town were reflected in its architecture. There are three sets of main research objectives: 1. The army in Poetovio. The location of the fortress, its size, the walls and the buildings inside will be studied as well as the detailed chronology. We are particularly interested in the beginnings and the abandonment of the fortress. The possible existence of several fortresses in the wider area of Ptuj will be examined as well. These questions will be addressed through field research of selected buildings and through the analysis of small finds of a military character. An epigraphic study of the tombstones of active soldiers and veterans will provide new insights into the composition of military units. 2. The transformation of the legionary fortress into a town. We would like to know what happened to the military facilities when the army left Poetovio and how the fortress influenced the urban design of the civilian town. 3. Central functions of the town. According to the building remains, epigraphic monuments and small finds, it is assumed that one of the central sanctuaries of Poetovio stood on the top of Panorama. The hypothesis about the existence of the sanctuary will be verified as well as the phases, the chronology and the method of construction. We would like to enquire about the relationship between the fortress and the alleged shrine. We are also interested in the role of the possible shrine in the town and the wider area, and not least in its end. The research programme is divided into four sections according to the method of work: archaeological trenching of four areas with post-excavation analysis of the material (the walls of the legionary fortress, the alleged military barrack, the circular room in Building XIV and the alleged sanctuary), analysis of the material remains from earlier research, which are held by the Ptuj-Ormož Regional Museum and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (remains of military equipment, military tombstones), synthesis of the results of the research, and public information. The search for answers to the questions raised will give us a broader insight into the course of the Roman conquest of the periphery of the Eastern Alps and the central Danube region in the 1st century, in which Poetovio played a key strategic role. The role of Poetovio will be better understood in the following period, the 2nd century when it became one of the most important towns in the region. The Municipality of Ptuj, which is a co-financer of the project, sees in the continuous research an opportunity to upgrade the contents of the Archaeological Park of Poetovio and thus indirectly influence also the wide-ranging development of the town.