THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE URBAN PHYSICAL STRUCTURES

OF MEDIEVAL MITROVICA AND ROMAN SIRMIUM

UDC: 904:711.4(398)"04/14" M. Jeremic

OrigiIial scientific paper Institute
" of Arclfaeology
11000 Belgrade
Manuscript received:09. 03. 2006.
Revisedmanuscriptaccepted:20. 04. 2006. Serbiaand Montenegro

The resolution of the problem of urban continuity from Antiquity to the Medieval period has been seriously treated during
the last few years. The Medieval agglomerations, in all their phases,could only partially take advantage of the early structures.
This is certainly the result of the constant topographical conditions that had to be dealt with from the very beginning of life
in this area. Antique architecture followed by medi_eval architecture was accepted in as much as its remains (preserved owing
to circumstances) were suitable for solving the practical needs of the new population. Within the time interval between the
disappearance of one and the establishment of the next settlement, whether that concerns Sirmium, the medieval town of
Civitas Sancti Demetrii, or the Turkish provincial town, and latel;: the larger town of Mitrovica, we notice (if we disregard
the origin of ethnic groups) only the continuity of periodical settling in one location. This entire multiplied cyclical process
was going on in the same area where first the Roman town of Sirmium was built under stable geomorphological conditions
and on top of the Celtic oppidum. The "invisible hand" of Sirmium influenced the formation of physical structures of
subsequent agglomerations over the 1600 years to come.
"'

The present -day image of Sremska Mitrovica reflects an an integral part of the modem urban structure and give at
, architectural heritage from different epochs.Thus the inher- the same time a distinctive image to the town (fig. 1).How-
., ited architectural and urban entities from the time of Aus- ever, the architectural and urban influence of the Roman
trian domination (18th-19th century) continue their life as and medieval periods is to a certain extent a passive one,

Fig. 1 SremskaMitrovica -zone ofhistorical urban hen'tage.Viewfrom the west of the old 'Zitni trg'. In theforegroundare visibleremains of the
main commercialcommunication of the southernquarter ofSirmium (4'. century)

M. Jeremic: The Relationshipbetween...137

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Pig. 2 Aerial view of Sremska Mitrovica. In red are marked The outline of Sirmium intra muros (4th century) and possible disposition of lines of
Roman bridges (mentioned by historical sources). In orange is marked the approximate area of medieval Mitrovica (14thcentury). Red circles
(a -d) indicate martyria
considering that these structures have only the function of
an exhibit presented to the general public at the archaeo-
logical sites. On the other hand, it is also active through some
virtual dimension, which could not be recognized easily by
unknowing observers. This virtual heritage of Sinnium, or
the medieval town of Gvitas Sancti Demetrii, is limited to
the permanence of certain segments of the lines of their
main communication routes, which are reflected more or
less in the network of streets of the modem town within the
historical urban center} Level of presence of this heritage
can be determined only by the comparative analysis of su-
perposed plans of the town from different epochs:a plan of
modem Mitrovica, plans from the time of Austrian domina-
tion, as well as archaeological maps and plans of urban ho-
rizons from the antique and medieval periods resulting from
many decadesof archaeological investigations (fig. 2). From
this analysis we can conclude that, no matter how much
Sirmium is understood by the public as the icon-town of
Sremska Mitrovica, part of the physical structure of the
modem town reflects to a greater extent its heritage from
the Middle Ages than that of the Roman period.
In the course of long-lasting archaeological works in
Sremska Mitrovica, the eye of the experienced investigator
gets used to following the remains of the material culture of
former epochs at the sites in the central town zone, more or
less always within an identical stratigraphic sequence. Be-
cause of high sub-soil waters, the data from the period of
life of Pre-Roman autochthonous populations are the least
available, hence their sporadic registration is only the result
138
of fortunate circumstances. But sometimes it is a greater
problem to disentangle the archaeological situation in the
upper, i.e. later, layers at spots where chronologically differ-
ent remains of urban physical structures .mutually overlap.
During the long time span from Antiquity until today, in
which new settlements were repeatedly established at the
same location as older ones,the usability of certain elements
of urban structures of earlier date (first of all parts of mas-
sive Roman buildings) could have been maintained within
the structures of later urban entities.
Systematicarchaeologicalinvestigations of Sirmiwn have
been in progress for the last half century. ill the meantime,
many previously stated assumptions concerning the struc-
ture of this Roman town have been refuted, while some ear-
lier conclusions have been confirmed and suppleni~nted by
new evidence.Thus, within the last two decades,it has turned
out that former theories estimating that the size of the an-
cient town was over 120 hectares and that its population
was several tens of thousands have not been confirmed by
the results of archaeologicalexcavations.Todaywe can state
with certainty that at its zenith, in the time of the tetrarchy,
Sirmiwn did not cover an area larger than 75hectares (intra
muros) (fig. 3). It was without a doubt the largest Pannonian
town, but the number of its inhabitants was certainly not
more than 15,000.z As the results of archaeologicalinvestiga-
tions have revealed so far, Sirmiwn was characterized by
individual, low houseswhile multi-storied dwelling structures
-insulae -were present in a rather small proportion.3 The
unstable marshy terrain was an almost insurmountable
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Plan of 4th-century Sirmium superposedwith a plan of SremskaMitrot/ica. The disposition and scope of the swamp and marshesis taken
Fig.
from Austrian plans from the 18thand 19thcenturies

problem for the builders who erected monumental struc-
tures such as town walls, the large granaries, or the monu-
mental public baths! On the other hand, it seems that a
considerable number of Sinniumsinhabitants had their lives
organized outside the town walls, on their country estates,
avoiding not only the unpleasant fumes from the surround-
ing marshes and town dumps, but also the diseasesspread
by swarms of insects.s
Sinnium was established within a rather restricted area
of solid ground in the middle of water environs consisting of
the river Sava,the brook Gikas,and numerous swamps and
marshes, the remains of which can be seenonly on the Aus-
trian maps of Mitrovica from the 18thand 19thcentury (fig.
4). Such disposition of water areas permanently determined
the planimetric concept of the antique town (its size and
shape,the layout of its walls, and the network of town com-
munication). It had beennoticed many years ago that in the
southern half of the town intra muros the radial layout of
streets was dictated by the curving line of the Sava river
bank, while in the northern half this scheme was more or
less orthogonal (fig. 3).6Results of archaeological excava-
tions and data from geotechnical probing have confirmed
indisputably that swamps and marshes had been system-
atically filled either with earth or other kind of debris during
the first four centuries of the life of the antique town.7 In
this way the marshy areaswere considerablyreduced in size
in the course of time; this on one hand provided a useful
area for future building and on the other reduced the dam-
aging effects of the swamps on the town population.
What in fact was the reason for establishingthe town at
this very place, which was by its hydrographic and geomor-
phological characteristics in contrast with the standards rec-
ommended by Vitruvius?8The answerto this question should
be sought by examining severalfactors: environmental, po-
litical, military-strategic, and economic.The rich rural hinter-
land, the topographic characteristics of the terrain (initially
suitable for the defenseof the settlement),and the position at
the crossroads of land and water communications were of
vital importance for the town itself but also for the Roman
empire, havingalsoin mind the proximity of the Danubelimes.

M. Jeremic: The Relationshipbetween...139

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These advantages outweighed all the shortcomings of the ence of the Celtic oppidum at this location. To the contrary,
natural environment, which it had beenassumedpossibleto the autochthonous oppidum was, by all appearances, es.
eliminate in the course of time by suitable technical mea- tablished in the same area where sometime later was estab-
sures. In fact, the military-political interest of the empire was lished the Roman town, that is, in the middle of the area
the crucial factor, which decisivelyinfluenced the status of the surrounded by marshes, swamps, and the curved line of the
town, i.e. the oscillation of its political and economic power, Sava river bank.
and finally its fate in a broader sense. In the course of archaeological excavations in the town
We could certainly not ignore the problem of the location itself, the archaeologistshad just a few opportunities when
of the autochthonous settlement of Pannonian Sirmienses, the sub-soil waters were extremely low to reach the layers
Amantines, Breuci, and Scordiscithat preceded the arrival of from the beginning of the 1stcentury AD. On the~e occa-
Italic colonists and which was an unsolvable enigma from sions, immediately above the level of sub-soil waters they
the very beginning of the systematic investigation of Simlium always encountered material remains of the La Tene cul-
until the final decadesof the 20thcentury. Nevertheless,scarce ture!O These re~s included either traces of autochtho-
remains of architectural structures recorded in the recent nous settlements, or objects for everyday use, especially
years of excavations at the levels higher than the sub-soil pottery, which at the time of the establishment of Sinnium
waters made possible two things: (1)to definitely locate the existed in parallel with artifacts of Roman colonists, which
position of the autochthonous settlement within the area of best illustrates the duality of the Celtic-Roman material cul-
the Sirmium center in the 1stcentury AD and (2) to get a ture of that time.ll
rough picture of its physical structure (fig. 5). To all this should be added the well-known La Tene
Many preceding decades of efforts to locate the autoch- necropolis registered some 1000 meters to the west of
thonous Celtic settlement at the hill Kalvarija to the east of Sinniumstown walls, upstream on the SavaRiver and along
Sirmium had not been based on reliable material evidence.9 the communication route running to the west (to Gbalae
Test trench investigations undertaken at Kalvan"jafirst in and Siscia)(fig. 5).12Its line (intra muros) approximately over-
1990and also in 1995refuted the assumptions of the exist- laps the main commercial street of Sinnium (recorded at

140

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Fig. 5 Schematic plan of the southern part of SremskaMitrovica. Blue spots mark the archaeologically investigated: (a) locations of Celti,
habitations, and (b) necropolis

locality 28) at the present-day 'Zitna Pijaca', which in the 4th
century ran eastward, leading to the palace complex and
hippodrome (fig. 3 and fig. 5). It seems that we would not be
wrong if we assume that it continued eastwards(i.e.towards
the junction with Singidunum -Gbalae transit road) under
or along the large diagonal road (today's Kuzminska street).
Considering the constellation of water surfaces in this area
consisting of marshes, the Gikas brook, and other large
swamps, it is the only free and also the shortest dry area
between the delta of the Gikas and the large swamp
Sa1akvai:a, i.e. the route to leave the settlement without dif-
ficulties (fig. 3). Although scarce,the finds from the time of
life of the autochthonous settlement on the archaeological
map reveal that it developedalong one communication route,
which would later be continuously used until the present
day (fig. 2). Thus topographic determinants noticed by the
Romans when establishing Sirmium had already been esti-
mated much earlier in the same way by the autochthonous
lliyrian-Celtic population.
But let us return to the antique town. Independently of
the increase in its political and economic power especiallyin
the time after Diocletian's reforms, when it becamethe capi-
tal of PazmoniaSecundaand one of four residential centers
of the tetrarchs (along with Milan, Nicomedia, and Trier),
Sinniumwas, asalways, primarily a town of commercial char-
acter at the crossroadsof land and water communications, a
town of intensive circulation of people and goods, and its
significance in that regard reached far beyond the regional
borders. Its four large granaries (discoveredso far within the
town walls in the southern section of the town closerto the
river), harbor, river fleet, mint, armory, brick plants, and com-
plex of potteries convincingly speak about that.
Let us now look at which parts of the physical structure of
Sin111"mn are reflected in the plan of modern SrernskaMitrovica.
For our comparative analysis, when AntiqUity is concerned,
we have selected a town plan from the 4thcentury, the very
period when Sin111"mn reached its largest size and acquired the
richest architectural stock in its 600-year long history in com-
parison with the degree of its political and ~conomic impor-
tance. The town plan from the 4th century (fig. 3) reflects of
course also the parts of town structures from preceding phases
of urban development, from the 1stto the 3rdcentury. This
mostly concerns parts of the town's fortification and the net-
work of urban communications.
Considering the plans of the antique and the modern town
in superposition, we can conclude (supported by the results
of archaeological investigations) that the line of the main com-
mercial street of Sin111"mn numing eastward from locality 28
overlaps with Vuk KaradZic street (also today the main com-
mercial street) until reaching locality 85, where we could theo-
retically expect the western edge of a smaller square (fig. 1
and fig. 4). This means that we could expect in the vertical
stratigraphy, as we have already mentioned, the largest seg-
ment of the main line of communication of the medieval town.
The discovery of traces of transit communication between
Singidunmn and Cibalae at the plateau to the east of town
wall, outside the town perimeter of Sirmium as well as the
crossing points of main town communications, carda maxi-
mas and decmnanus maxim us, at locality 79 (fig. 3)13sug-
gests the position of the main town forum. On the other
hand, the position of the decmnanus (as-a continuation of
the road to Cibalae, extra muros) indicates the position of
one of Sirmimns bridges, the one known as pons Basentis,
where, according to the historical sources, Iraeneus, the first

Teremii: The Relationship between... 141

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tinued also during the periods of Turkish and later Austrian

domination. Nowadays this is the zone of the town park andmain
square of SremskaMitrovi.ca.

SIRMIUM IN THE SmAND 6m CENfURIES

The time of progress and peace in the towns in this re-

gion came to an end with the barbarian invasion of pannonia
in the final quarter of the 4thcentury. The destruction of the
Pannonian towns along with the temporary settling of the
Fig. 6: a) Oak piles (piloti) of the Sirmium bridge Pons Basentis barbarians resulted not only in the beginning of the migra-
driven in the bottom of the Sava riverbed. Near the base of the pile tion process of the Roman population but also in the disin-
tegration of the physical structures of towns whose vital
one may notice the piles' iron caps (photo S. Panic)
connections with the once rich-rural hinterland had been ~~
bishop of Sirmium, was executed}4 Recent hydroarchaeo-
logical investigations in the Sava riverbed have confirmed,
I "rt\~
by all appearances, earlier assumptions concerning the lo-
cation of this bridge (fig. 6a and 6b)}5 The location of an-
other one of Sirmiums bridges (some 2 kIn downstream),
which is also mentioned in the sourceswithin the context of ~~~ ~;~
clash between Constantine and Licinius, has not been es-
tablished with certainty so far, but it does not seemunrea- ~j ..r:;-
lal
J

sonable that it was situated in the area to the south of the

imperial palace (fig. 2)}6 fiiI
~
Both of aforementioned main urban lines of communica-
tion of Sirmium represent nothing other than extensions of
important transit roads, which via Sirmium connected Aqui-
lei a and Singidunum, as well as Aquincum and Argentaria \\\\
and Salonaor ConstantinopoUs.In fact, their lines had most 0
probably beenin use long before the arrival of the Romansin I", ~ --?JI ~
the territory of Pannonia.The main north-south communica-
tion route, which in the area intra muros continues as carda (,(I~
maximus, can be clearly discerned (in the sectionoutside the
northern ramparts) as Vialapidibus strata on Marsilius' sche- ~\~~~~~~
matic plan of Sirmiuni70r on the Austrian plans of 18th-cen- -_f
tury Mitrovica as Die SteinezneStrassen(fig. 4/a).This is just
an extension ef the Roman road recorded with certainty in ~~ ~(
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the area from Mitrovica to Banostor or Sirmium-Bononia}8
ConcerningSirmiumstwo above-mentionedforums, the ear-
lier one was located to the south of the above-mentioned in-
Q
tersection of main communication arteries in the northern
half of the toWnarea,while the other one, of smallersize,was ()
established in the end of the 3rdor the beginning of the 4th 'j'f!!- -\ \ 6\
century in the area in front of the carceresof the hippodrome

~
and large town granary at locality 85 (fig. 3). Its function, as Pig. 8 Groundplan ofa segmentof the Late Romanurban villa (Villa
we will seelater, was restored in the medievalperiod and con- urbana)at locality 4 with remains of habitationsfrom the 5Ih-6'h
century(M. Parovic-Pesikan,Sirmium II, 1971)

142

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Fig. 7 Schematicplan of 4th-centurySirmium with denotedapproximatearea of the town at the time ofurban disintegrationand the ruralization of the
settlementin the J'h and 6thcentury. a -remains of habitations, b -graves (denotedburials possibly indicating areas usedas necropolis -intra muros)

definitively interrupted. Theirmain characteristicshad become
depopulation and ruralization. The existingarchitectural com-
plexes within the walls had beenreduced, and consequently,
the scope of town fortification was also diminished. Buildings
outside the perimeter of the new ramparts were now used
merely as "borrowing" places for building materials!9
This fate even awaited Skmium, which since the time of
the promotion of the Goths as foederatiin AD 380 had no
longer been a residential town of the Roman emperors. Ac-
cording to the new military-political and economic situation,
the once 'Pannonian metropolis' would not until its fall in
582 exceed its importance as one of many Roman stations
on the Savaand Danube frontiers. Nevertheless,as the re-
sults of archaeologicalinvestigations reveal so far, the build-
ing activity in the town, or better said, in what was left of
the town, did not die out entirely. Unfortunately, the data
about the physical structure of Skmium in the 5thand 6th
century are not abundant. We do not even know the precise
perimeter of the settlement in that time, but it is possible to
confirm that the concentration of archaeological finds and
structures mostly covers the southern half of the 4th-cen-
tury Skmium area, which is near the SavaRiver (fig. 7). How-
ever, it is possible that a considerable number of the towns-
people sought refuge on one of two river islands, Cassiaor
Carbonaria {mentioned by Menander)2,and that could be
the area of the present-day town of Matvanska Mitrovica.zl
Investigations conducted so far have revealed that most
of the architectural finds from the 5thand 6thcentury were
dwelling structures. In that regard we got valuable inforrna-
tion from the area of the Late Roman hippodrome with im-
perial palace complex to the south as well as from the peri-
style of the urban villa at locality 4 (VJUaurbana) (fig. 8).
Thus it turned out that this complexof buildings in the south-~

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Teremic:The RelationshilJbetween...143
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Fig. 9 Arena of ffle late imperial Sirmium hippodrome -trench oj~ ofpoor material built
144/c: segment ofground plan of habitation constructed

against the south wall of the hippodrome podium

Fig. 10 Part of a building (5th_6thcentury) constructed on top of leveled Fig. 11 Remains of a Gepidean timber framed house-hut (wattle and
rubble of the collapsed walls of the Sirmium granary (4th century) at daub) dug into the floor of the 4th-centuryRoman structure
locality 85 at locillity 85

em half of the town had been transfonned in the 5thand 6th
century into a small settlement, a practically new quarter of
impoverished population where consequentlyhousesof poor
structure and temporary character prevailed.
An analysis of the architecture of the 4thcentury hippo-
drome carried out by V. Popovic and E. Ochsenschlageras
well as of Late Roman structures of the 5thand 6thcentury
installed among its collapsedwalls concernsgenerallythe area
of the south tract of the hippodrome and arena, where the
largest number of archaeologicaltrenches had been investi-
gated. The authors then concluded that all discoveredarchi-
tectural remains from the 5thand 6thcentury belong to the
dwelling structures. Although not a single complete plan of
any structure had beenidentified, it was possibleto conclude
that these were modest monocellular habitations of tempo-
rary character, of timber-earthen structure, constr:!)ctedon
top of antique debris in the free spacein the arena, along the
massivewall of the podium of the auditorium or the southern
hippodrome annex (fig. 9).22 The walls of 'solid' material, ie.
structures built of fragments of Roman bricks laid in mud
were rather rare.23The floors of these habitations were made
of layers of lime mortar or stamped clay.24Particularly inter-
esting are the well-preserved house hearths made of brick,
some of which were renovated many times.25
At locality 85, in the area to the south of the hippodrome
that was identified as the imperial palace complex and has
been intensely investigated and excavated in the last three
years (fig. 3) researchershave also registered modest habita-
tions from the 6thcentury organized on top of the carefully
leveledrubble of collapsedwalls of earliermassivestructures

*
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144
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Fig. 13 Town chflrch oiSirrniurn, first half of the 5'hcentury(locality 59), erectedon top of the leveledwalls ofearlier structures(3nl-4'hcentury)
" ished in order to obtain bricks and stone for other buildings
Fig. 12 Remains of a Gepidean house dug into the mosaicfloor
4th-century room at locality 85
(fig. 10).Even the floor consisting of one or two layers of lime
mortar had been laid over thus prepared surfaces.However,
the walls of the earlier buildings had not always beendemol-
(photo N. Boric)
but simply to open the surrounding area for other purposes.
Sinnium at that time must have looked almost uninhab-
ited. In the area to the south of the hippodrome (localities 37
and 85) (fig. 7) a complete small Gepidean settlement con-
sisting of wooden huts was registered (fig. 11).Thesehabita-
tions were relatively crowded together and partially dug into
the ground, that is, into the rubble or mortar or mosaic floors
of abandoned Roman buildings. Impressions of vertical
wooden supporters -posts as well as traces of horizontal
beams-inserted in the existing lime mortar floors are clearly
discernible (fig. 12).Burials were also sporadicallyrecorded in
the vicinity of these settlements (fig. 7)}6
Of course, it would be wrong to assume that the entire
physical structure of Sinnium consisted only of huts and
other types of dwelling structures of poor construction. The
town also had its representative structures of solid material,
of a
although gathered from collapsed earlier buildings from the
ancient times of glory and economic prosperity, but such
structures, due to their monumentality (conditionally speak-
ing), stood out of the general picture of desolation and pov-
erty. Two such structures have been registered so far. The
first is the town church built in the first half of the 5thcen-
M. Jeremic: The RelationshIpbetween...145
 Fig. 15 Epitaph an the sarcophagus of SisterJoan (Iohanna Sirmiensis) (early 7th century) at the Early Christian necropolis of Salona (site
Manastirine) near Split (photo M. Jeremic)
-
Fig. 14 Hippodrome, locality 66. Remains of solidly built dwelling
structure with installationsfor hot air heatingin a vaultedroom of
the substructureof the auditorium (cavea)
tury (the Church of St. Demetrius)27discovered at locality 59,
and the second was the residence of some well-off political,
church, or military official discovered at locality 66 within
146
~;I~
the northern tract of the hippodrome (fig. 7)}8 The church
(possibly even of cathedral character) at locality 59(fig. 13)is
a three-aisledbasilicawith a transept. According to V. Popovic
the church could have been built in 426 or 427in the time of
great economic, political, and demographic crisis and of the
disintegration of the municipal administration of Sirmium.
It was destroyed in 441/442 when the Huns devastated
Sirmium.29It was erected on top of leveled walls of carefully
selected earlier structures the disposition of which already
resembledthree-aisledspace,thus making it possibleto con-
struct a new structure with as few buildiJ;1ginterventions as
possible. Only the apse and bays of the transept were addi-
tionally constructed.30The leveled earlier walls were used as
stylobates of the naos colonnades. Around the church.a
necropoliswas spontaneouslyestablishedwhere the remains
of the deceasedwho were brought here from the neighbor-
ing extra murosnecropolis have been registered. Within the
new restructured urban complex of Sirmium, the church was
situated in the northern town periphery (fig. 7).
The second solidly built structure, which we conditionally
identified as a residence,was constructed in the 6thcentury
also on top of an already-existing earlier structure. In this
instance it concerns two or possibly more vaulted rooms -
caveabeing a substructure of the auditorium in the north-
ern tract of the hippodrome. The vaults had alreadycollapsed,
and on the floor in the interior of the cavea,the suspensurae
for heating installations using hot air had been built (fig.
14).31 Whether we consider this an improvisation or not, for
the inhabitants of huts of wattle and daub constructed a
few dozen meters to the south, this 'residence' must have
looked like a real palace.
The importance of these two examples lies in the fact
that, disregarding a certain degree of building negligence,
they represent the first so far known examples of solidly
built (we could evensayrepresentative)structures in Sinnium
from the time of the Great Migration on which were clearly
 demonstrated teclmiques of traditional Romanarchitecture.
,'. sence
Other of
examples do not reveal
accompanying such characteristics,
archaeological socan
material they inab-
be
classified within a much wider chronological framework.
It is only too logical that the life of Sinniumsinhabitants
of that time was going on within southern half of the 4th-
century antique town, in the area closer to the river, taking
into account that infrastructural installations were no long~r
functioning. However, we can still assume that evenin such
situations when under new historical circumstances the ur-
ban area within the town walls was greatly reduced and ear-
lier structures had been demolished (and used as borrowing
places for building material), some of the earlier town com-
munications still remained in use.Thus, the earlierlarge com-
munication running east-west (with two porticos) arid ex-
tending along the northern border of the hippodrome to the
west (towards the forum) could have connected certain public
or sacred structures such as the town church at locality 59
(fig. 7). Therefore, we can consider it to had been one of
main urban communications (east-west) of Sinnium in the
5th-6thcentury. The buildings constructed along this street
were naturally those of more solid structure and offering
better cQrnfort (locality 66) in comparison with structures
within the southern tract of the hippodrome, which at that
time was already the town periphery.
lhe architecture of 5th-and 6th-century Sirmium, repre-
sented (except the town church) only by segments of cer-
~ buildings and floors of humble habitations, does not
-' enableus to comprehend the spatial organization of the entire
settlement. Nevertheless, under thus changed historical cir-
cumstances and with the Church's leading role in public life,
one notices some elements indicating the beginning of a slow
but permanent process of organization of new forms of
urban life, i.e. of new social relations, and this was certainly
not accidental. At some of the localities (4,37,49, 59, 85)(fig.
3 and fig. 7)we encountered a higher or lower concentration
of burial pits (and their number actually depended on real
investigation possibilities, in other words, on the size of the
investigated locality). Theseburials had not the character of
sporadic interments. Rather, we could say that these were
small necropoles in various zones of settlement and their
focal points were small parish churches. If this is so, then it
could be understood as an anticipation of those structures
which were to evolve into medieval town, suchas those that
were established on the Roman ruins in the west. In this
processthe church certainly played a decisive role. In caseof
Sirrnium this obviously initiated historical process was
abruptly ended due to the fatal intrusion of the Avars in 582
resulting in the fact that this once famous 'Pannonian me-
tropolis' and imperial residential town definitely disappeared
from the historical scene.
It is believedthat, after surrendering Sinnium to the Avars,
the entire population according to the conditions of surren-
der left the town and headed towards the distant coasts of
the Mediterranean.32In that respect the true story about the
irony of fate of the twelve-year-old girl from Sinnium writ-
ten on her sarcophagusin the necropolis of the 'Manastirine'
monastic complex near Salana (in the vicinity of Split) is
very illustrative (fig. 15).33
11IEMIDDLEAGES
Fromthe fall of Sirmiumin 582until the appearanceof
the Hungariansin the Pannonianplain there are no traces
indicating an attempt to establisha settlementof perma-
nent character. After the fall of Srem to the Hungarians in
927, the location of Sirmium became interesting once again.
The exceptionally favorable strategic position of the once
antique town had been noticed not only by the Hungarians
but also by other pretenders, such as the Bulgarians,and the
Byzantines, so many battles were fought, and this impor-
tant strategic point changed hands several times in the pe-
riod between the lOthand the 12thcentury. Byzantium took
over Sirmium in 1018,but the constant conflicts of Htlpgar-
ians and Byzantium were ended when Sirmium fell into the
hands of Hungarians in 118034 and remained under their con-
trol until 1526,when it was definitely occupied by the Turks.
Thereis almost no information from the historical sources
about the appearance of the settlement in the 11thand 12th
centuries. Priest Ansbert, participant in and chronicler of
the Third Crusade, mentions only the ruins of the antique
town, saying that '... Sirmium once famous town is nowa-
days only a heap of miserable ruins'.35However, the 11thcen-
tury sourcesmention also the church of St. Demetrius, which
most probably was part of the monastery complex bearing
the same name. The date of the church's construction is not
known, but it is certain that the church existed before 1072,
when it was mentioned by John iGnnarnos within the con-
text of conflicts between Byzantium and Hungary.36Settle-
ment of rural character established around the monastery
of St. Demetrius, on the ruins of the antique town, got the
name of its patron saint -VIDa Sancti Demetrii -while the
name of the ancient town, Sirmium, was used for the entire
area of Srem.
Indirect evidence of the existence of this settlement is
provided by a large 11th-to 12th-centurynecropolis with gra,ve
finds from the Bijelo Brdo culture. The eastern border of the
necropolis did not extend much farther from the Late Ro-
man urban villa in Sirmium (VIDa urbana)at locality 4 (fig. 3
and fig. 7),while the western border could have extended to
localities 37and 85 (fig. 3). The necropolis from the 11th-12th
century is certainly synchronous with the existence of the
monastery of St. Demetrius. In that respect, the superpos-
ing of town plans from the Austrian period, the modem
town plan, and the archaeological map proyides very inter-
esting results. On the town plan from 1780(fig. 4) the first
Catholic church built in the town after the expulsion of the
Turks, which was dedicated to St. Demetrius, is marked with
a red circle. It is situated almost in the center of the 11th-12th
century necropolis and was in use until the construction of
a new Catholic church in the beginning of the 19thcentury,
which was also dedicated to St. Demetrius. According to the
data from the register of churches in Srem made for the
parish bursary in 1736,the original church was in fact an
altered Turkish mosque.The TUrksas we know turned Chris-
tian churches into mosques in the countries they occupied,
so it could be assumed that the mosque in that location (fig.
4) was preceded by the medieval church of St. Demetrius
from the 11thcentury. It is not impossible that some of the
rooms of the Roman late imperial hippodrome had been in-
corporated in the structure of the monastery complex. Of
course, suchspecific 'recycling' of sacredstructures could be
confirmed only by archaeologicalexcavations.
At this moment, the approximate borders of the VIDa
Sancti Demetrii settlement could be established according
to the mapped archaeologicalfinds: pottery, coins, and jew-
elry. When architecture is concerned,we will not be wrong if
we assume that most of the houses in the settlement were
made of insubstantial materials: wattle, mud, fragmented
Roman bricks, reed and thatch (for roof covers), and even
M. Teremic:The Relationshipbetween...147

Fig. 16 Locality 85: Plan of complex of cathedral church of St. Mary Magdalene (13th_14thcentury) with chapel (church of St. Nicholas, 13th
century?) superposedon a plan of Roman granary walls, which are partially incorporated within the composition of the complex of medieval
structures. The residential complex of solidly built houses (a-c) of the most prosperous class of the town population is separatedfrom the sacred
part by a paved street (e-e)
parts of preserved antique structures were also used. The map-
ping of portable finds also provided valuable infomlation
about the position of main communication of the 11th-12th
century. It approximately overlaps the line of today's Vuk
KaradZic street, i.e. the line of the southern commercial street
of Sim1ium that extends eastward from locality 28 (fig. 35).
At that time, according to historical sources, the episcopal
see was on the right bank of the Sava river in the area of
today's MaCvanska Mitrovica, where a complex of churches
from the lOth,11th,and 13thcentury was discovered in the course
of archaeological excavations conducted from 1962 to 1968
(fig. 2).37Under the foundations of the earliest medieval church,
parts of 4th-century martyrium were discovered. Theoretically
speaking, the martyrium as well as all three medieval churches
could have been constructed in the immediate vicinity of the
bridge pons Basentis, where according to historical sources
lraeneus, the first bishop of Sim1ium, had been executed in
AD 304. After all, all three mentioned medieval churches were
dedicated to St. lraeneus suggesting a possible, but no "real"
material continuity of the cult place.38
ViDa Sancti Demetriiwas in the 12thand 13thcentury the
type of settlement which conditionally could be called 'no-
madic'.39 It was a settlement of predominantly rural charac-
ter on the southern frontier of Hungary, which from a legal
and administrative point of view depended entirely on the
king or count. When it obtained royal privileges and changed
its name to Gvitas Sancti Demetriiin the 14thcentury, this
marked not only fundamental changes in the economic
progress of the town, but also in the evolution of its urban
physical structure. Thanks, first of all, to a great influx of
148
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~
"'d)
@:
"'ij)
Q)
:>
(\)
C/)
0)
.g
C/)
~
0 5 10 15M
I II l
-
craftsmen, merchants, and learned individuals in all domains
of urban life, Ovitas Sancti Demetrffturned into a 'European'
type of town.40Thesechangescoincided with historical trends
in this part of Europe, whereby Hungary abandoned the
east European market with its centers i.n Byzantium and
Kiev and opened its frontiers to immigrants from the West
(Ovis Latinomm) and linked firmly to the West. In this group
of newly arrived Latins should be recognized the origin of
the urban middle class,which would certainly make its mark
also on the urban physical structure. The role of spirjtus
movensin medieval Mitrovica was played by the Dubrovnik
merchants, whose colony here was one of the largest in the
territory of Hungary.41
For the further transformation of the remains of Sjm1ium
into a medieval town of 'European' type we have some more
information than for the period from the 11thto the 12thcen-
tury. Information from one charter dated in 1347reveals
that segments of Sjm1iums structures still existed in the
medieval town at thai time.42Written sources concerning
the organization of the urban structure of the medieval town
are very scarce. In one sales contract from 1388,the town
square is described being surrounded by houses and build-
ing sites'... vicus sejplatea cjvitatis '.43Another source,dated
1340, mentions the churches of St. Mary and St. Mcholas
and relates them to the name of one citizen of Dubrovnik.44
Marcantonio Pigafetta mentions in Turkish Mitrovica the
ruins of one magnificent building (probably medieval),which
he describes as a fortress attached to the church l Sj vede
ancorala mina d' un beJUssimo edifido, comedi qualcherocca,
con una chiesa congiunta.a).45 It is difficult to say whether

~'
Fig. 17 a) and b) Segments of doorway vault-ribs?
Pigafetta was referring to the remains of the medieval ca-
thedral church in the town center or to the remains of the
fortified chapel at Kalvarija to the east of Mitrovica on the
right hand side of the road to Belgrade,which is also depicted
in a drawing by Ottendorf, who traveled as imperial envoy
from Vienna to Istanbul in 1663(fig. 36). Mention of the
walls visible in the town is known also from the later period,
from the time of Turkish Mitrovica as well as from the time
Fig. 18 a and b : Segments of window frames covered by stucco and painted
Fig. 17 b)
after the expulsion of the Turks, but the structures men-
tioned cannot be precisely locateq.46
Therefore, let us seewhat evidencewe got from archaeo-
logical excavations, particularly those carried out in large
open areasin the central zone of the modem town, where it
was possible to investigate rather large structural entities
(fig. 3). Excavations at locality 31,where the 4th-cent~ gra-
nary (horreum) has been almost completely explored, re-
vealed that some of the rooms had been used with certain
adaptations in the medieval period.47Across the street at the
plateau of the modem parking lot to the north of Vuk
KaradZic street, and where until recently stood a municipal
jail complex, the researchersdiscovered in 2003 (at locality
85) (fig. 3 and fig. 16)the remains of one massive Late Ro-
man structure (probably a horreum from the second half of
the 4thcentury), as well as the remains of a medieval town
Gothic cathedral church with multilayered necropolis (14th-
171h century). Somewhatmore to the east, at locality 37 (ex-
cavated from 1968to 1971),a portion of a representative
residential quarter of the medieval town Wa,S discovered.
0 10
'--=-=---=-""",
M. Jeremic: The Relationshipbetween...149
 r~

'Fig. 19 View of 'crypt' (northeast corner): south wall of Roman granary (4th century) painted with frescoesprobably in the 13thcentury

Fig. 21 Fragment of a scenedepicting the meeting of Christ and Mary

Magdalene (Mary wipes Christ's foot with her hair)

The discoveryof the cathedral churchof the medieval town

Fig. 20 Fragment ofa sceneof the Crucifixionat Golgotha,on the east
wall of the 'crypt'
Ovitas Sancd Demetrff(13th-14th century) was indicated in
the trenches excavated in the town park in 1981,when a
portal segment of the church was discovered together with
the southwestern comer of a monumental antique store-
house (horreum), and it was possible to determine the di-
mensions of the ground plans of both structures. Worthy of
mention are also the fragments of architectural stone deco-

150

~,
Fig. 22 GothicinscriptiorzMARIA MAGDALENA on the eastwall of
'crypt'
Fig. 23 a and b: Representation of receptacle with personspreparing for the ,,'tual washing of the feet on the north (Roman) ttlall of the 'crypt'
ration of Gothic character recorded in the course of earlier
excavations at adjacent locality 37 (fig. 17/aand b and fig.
18/aand b). Thus the dimensions of the horreumare 40 x 30
meters and of the Gothic cathedral, around 45 x 11meters. In
the church nave under the level of the floor (which is not
preserved), researchers discovered a room identified condi-
tionally as a 'crypt' (hereafter crypt) (fig. 16 and fig. 19). It
was constructed against the north wall of the Roman store-
house.1n addition, this Roman wall was (on the outside that
is now the north interior wall of the crypt) plastered and
fresco painted in the 13thcentury. In fact, the entire crypt
was fresco painted. The prevailing n1otifs are those from the
New Testament of which most interesting are scenesof the
Crucifixion on the eastern wall (fig. 20) and the meeting of
Mary Magdalene and Christ (fig. 21).On this segment, above
Mary's head the name MARIA MAGDALENA was written in
the Gothic alphabet (fig. 22),and this could be consideredas
a dedication of the church. Fragments of frescoes on the
north wall are rather poorly preserved and illegible, so for
the time being the motifs on them could not be identified
before the conservation treatment (fig. 24). Nevertheless,on
some segments, details of the motif of the washing of feet
are clearly distinguishable (fig. 23/a and b).
Fig. 24 Fragment with a representation of a luxurious vestment of
some respectableperson, on the north (Roman) wall of the 'crypt'
Paintings in the crypt clearly reflect a strong Byzantine
influence, or better said, a combination of stylistic traits of
easternand western painting schools,which were interlinked
in the southern border area of the Hungarian Kingdom where
the medieval town Qvitas Sancti Demetriiwas situated. Only
the northwestern portion of the crypt was discovered,but it
is certain that it extends further towards the west part of the
church. In any case,this crypt is an exceptionally good ex-
ample of the prolonged use of antique architectural struc-
tures in accordancewith the everydayneedsof the new medi-
evalpopulation. This alsoconcernsthe long massive eastwall
of the antique structure (horreum)against which were added
cellar rooms of the cathedral complex (fig. 25 and fig. 26).48
The church had at leasttwo phasesof life. The crypt dates
certainly from the first phase (13th-14th centuries), although
it is not impossible that it had been an earlier sacred struc-
ture preceding the cathedral church as is the case with the
Church of Mary Magdalene in Esztergom, which also has
two phases, one from the 13thand another from the 14th
century (fig. 27).49In any case,future archaeologicalexcava-
tions will reveal what was the character of the functional
union of the crypt and the cathedral church and within which
chronological framework this entire area had been articu-
M. Jeremic: The Relationship between... 151
152
 -
Fig. 29 Detail of the same tombstone with inscription which could be
most probably read as BANUS. In that case it would be a positive
confirmation of the presence of one of the Croatian bans in Mitrovica
who was also buried there

was without doubt the focal point of the necropolis.54In

contrast to the external area, where the deceasedhad been
buried in simple burial pits or in woodencoffins, in the church
interior masonry .tombs were encountered. The latter were
built of brick laid in lime mortar, and it seems that they had Fig. 30 In the process of construction of a hOUle,a part of an antique
-~ ' been at the floor level covered with stone slabs. This fact
wall (4th century) was removed to provide free spacefor the cellar
unambiguously suggests that the interior of the church had
been reserved for the burying of respectable citizens, pri-
marily those of aristocratic descent. One such fragmented
slab with an inscription of Gothic character and an aristo-
cratic coat of arms (combined eagle's claw and wing) (fig.
28) was found dislocated in the church nave between the
eastern crypt wall and the apse,although it could have origi-
nated from the crypt itself. What attracts the most atten-
tion is the engraved text on the slab borders that is not
completely preserved. On one of the borders a fragment of
the inscription can be read as BARUS or BANUS (fig. 29).
The damage of the third letter of this word BAt:. .JUSdo not
permit reliable reading but by all appearances it could be
read as BANUS indicated the fact that this was a tombstone
of Croatian ban (high official or governor)who was buried in
the Cathedral. 55When the coat of arms on the slab is con~
cerned, experts for medievalheraldry think that he was most
probably a member of the respectable Kanizsay family.56
At the time when the church was active, the west portal
of-the Cathedral faced the town square, which extended un-
der the modem town park. The complex of the Cathedral Fig. 31 Segment of the cellar ofa house-a. Housefoundations are resting
(with chapel) was separated from the residential quarter in on thefloor level ofan antique structure. In theforeground one can seea
the east (locality 37) by a street running in a north-south Gepideanhouse (6thcentury) dug into thefloor ofan antique room
direction (fig. 16).57
In this residential quarter we discovered
three solidly built dwelling structures from the 14thcentury. in the center of Sremska Mitrovica, the remains of a medi-
In fact, parts of their cellar rooms were discovered.58Consid- evalhouse were registered. This dwelling was made of daub,
ering the massive walls it could be assumed that each of and the vertical timber supporters of the house rested on
these houses had not only a ground floor but also an upper the leveled Romanwall. A similar situation was recorded also
storey. Their walls had been built independently of the struc- across the street, at locality 38, next to the building of the
tures of the antique rooms (fig. 30 and fig. 31).59 Museum of Srem at St. Stephen's Square (fig. 3).61
The continual use of antique structures in the Middle In the area of the hippodrome we registered the aban-
Ageswas encounteredalso at locality 28 (today's'Zitna pijaca') doned rooms (cavea)in many excavated trenches.62At local-
(fig. 32),where similarly to the examples from locality 31(fig. ity 34 in the northern tract of the hippodrome we encoun-
33) certain adaptations of preserved parts of Roman struc- tered a medieval house solidly built of Roman bricks and
tures were carried out.GO Somewhat more to the east, at lo- leaning against the external longitudinal wall of the north-
cality 49, where today the Stoteks department store stands ern tract (fig. 34).

M. Jeremic: The Relationshipbetween...153

 154

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Fig. 35 Schematic plan with the approximate scope of the medieval town / a) Villa Sancti Demetrii, 11th-13thcentury; b) Civitas Sancti
Demetrii 14th-16thcentury; c) Town square of the medieval settlement 11t! -16thcentury; d) Church of St. Mary, 13th.14thcentury, with chapel of St.
Nicholas,15 h century(?)
-
cality 34 (north tract of hippodrome), the crypt of the cathe-
dral church, and the cellar walls of the rOoms added along
the eastern wall of the Roman storehouse (to the north of
the medieval Cathedral) (fig. 25 and fig. 26).65
By mapping the medieval finds, including coins, pottery,
metal objects (especially tools), and architectural remains
on the plan of the modem town, we obtamed the approxi-
mate area and outline of both chronologically distinct urban
entities of the medieval town; the one from the 11thto the
12thcentury, as well as the one from the 14thto the 16thcen-
tury (fig. 35). We have noticed that finds are concentrated
along the longitudinal axis around one (main) communica-
tion running along an east-west axis. Its curved shape is a
consequenceof permanent topographic conditions. This is
the previously mentioned line of communication initially of
the pre-Roman autochthonous settlement that existed (in
its largest segment) also in time of Roman Sinnium.
Its use continued in the Middle Ages,in the time of Turk-
Fig. 34 Locality 34. Part of the external wall of the northern ish rule, and in the time of Austrian domination (fig. 4) -
hippodrome tract as a segment of a 14th-~enturydwelling structure
and it is even apparent on the present-day town plan. It is
with their anticipated structure and function. One such ex- also clearly depicted on the drawing done by Herman von
ample was recorded at locality 49.63 Ottendorf in 1633(fig. 36).66 This medieval town artery rep-
2) Well-preserved parts/rooms of Roman buildings ac- resents at the same time the extension of the commercial
quired in the Middle Ages new functions after major or mi- route connecting the West with the Orient. Around this axis
nor interventions (the partitioning of rooms, the closing of for centuries the settlements of rural or urban character pul-
existing apertures, or the opening of new ones). The best sated with more or less intensity in accordance with its geo-
example of such interventions is the complex of the granary political and economic power. It is obvious that the logic of
(horreum) at locality 31 (fig. 33).64 laying out the town communications was a consequenceof
3) The new (medieval) structure was built against or lean- the dispositions of the terrain, but also that it was modified
ing on one of the walls of an earlier antique building. In this according to the newly created landmarks either in the town
case, as the best examples we should probably mention 10- or in its surroundings. Thus were created other important

,
M. Jeremic: The Relationshipbetween...155

..,,
.f
fMitrovica
/
 ". Fig. 37 Drawing by E. Dodwel of the Athenianacropolisduring the Turkishdomination

town communications, which diagonallyconnectedthe town,

its square, and the Sava harbor (i.e. ferry) with neighboring
settlements and monasteries. This structure of town com-
munications continued also in the later periods, under the
Turks, as well as in the time of Austrian domination.

MITROVICAIN THE nME OFTURKS

Medieval Mitrovica suffered conflagration and heavy de-

Fig. 36 Plan ofMitrovica in 1663,by H. Von Ottendorf
struction after the battle of Nicopolis in 1396, and a large
part of the town's population was tak~n to Turkey as
slaves.57New plundering by the Turks ensued in 1458and
146268, again in 1521,and finally in 1526, when the Turks
finally occupied Mitrovica.69Later layers of the necropoli&
(16th-171hcentury) already cover the collapsed chapel walls
and demolished 14th-centuryhousesto the east of the medi-
eval street. Judgingby the finds of Turkish tombstones (m-?8ll)
at this necropolis (locality 37),it should not be ruled out that
the cathedral church or at least a part of it was turned into
a mosque after the Turks' arrival.
About the physical structure of Mitrovica from its period
under the Turks we know moreirom the many existing travel
logs and archives than from the results of archaeological
excavations. From the reports of many travelers and espe-
cially of Evli Celebi, we realize that 171h-centuryMitrovica
had all the characteristics of a genuine oriental settlement,
with low architecture spread over a wide area along natu-
rally establishedcommunications. The focal points of its dis-
tricts (mahalla)were according to Celebi twelve mosques.7o
Not a single structure has been preserved from the period
when the town was under Turkish rule.71
In spite of the large amount of literary data, we could get
information about the architecture and the approximate area
of the settlement only on the basis of archaeologicalexcava-
tions. The discovered parts of structures from this period
are exclusivelyexamplesof residentialarchitecture.Fromthese

156

.,I
 examples it turns out that the Turkish housesdid not differ
from the medieval ones or those from the time of the Great
Migration in terms of their structural composition, building
techniques, and the materials used. What dates them pre-
cisely is the portable archaeological material. ill that time
the remains of Sinnium were still quite visible in the town.
Even for dwelling purposes the very same antique struc-
tures were used, which during the medieval period had al-
ready been subjected to repeated rebuilding and adaptations
(e.g. locality 31).After all, in the time of the restructuring of
antique towns, in the 5thand 6thcentury, the intermingling
of inherited antique structures and new oneswas common-
place throughout the entire Roman Empire. The blending of
inherited and new structures continued also in the medieval
period and even later. ill that respect, the drawing by E.
Dodweldepicting a Turkish settlement at the Athenian
acropolis is very illustrative (fig. 37).72 The same situation
would have been encountered in Rome itself in the end of
the 16thcentury (especially in the area between the Colos-
seum and the Lateran or in the vicinity of Santa Maria
Maggiore as we see 'on the plan made by A. Tempest in
1593).
Mn'ROVICA IN TIlE nME OFAUSTRIANDOMINATION
The indifference of the Turks when antique architecture
is concerned, but also the conveniencesit provided for satis-
~ ' fying the practical
ing purposes needs
or artisan of commercial
and the inhabitants eitherprolonged
activities, for dwell-
the life of Sirrniwn's remains. However, after the Turks were
expelled in 1718and especially after the establishment of the
Military Frontier in 1747,the fate of Sirrniwnwas definitely
determined. New builders, in order to realize a large con-
struction program, whether it was an apartment building
for staff officers, or engineering work on the fortification of
the Sava bank and road construction, turned Sirrniwn into
a specific borrowing place of building material. For that pur-
pose, without any sentimentality, even dynamite was used.73
One thing that in this period was certainly inherited from
the structures of the earlier settlementsis the existing scheme
of town communications. Obviously,the specific topographic
conditions along with the constellation of the existing ap-
proaching roads, which extend through the settlement as
town communications, were a strong reason for Austrian
architects to abandon fashionable baroque urban schemes.
It seemsthat at the beginning of life of 'Austrian'Mitrovica,
Turkish architecture was not succeeded by architecture of
much better quality. Besidesthe well-built churches and ad-
ministrative buildings (the magistrate building and the mu-
nicipal building in Mitrovica), other structures were built of
low quality material. Archaeologicalexcavationshaverevealed
that in some instances leveled antique walls were used as
foundations for new structures (localities 49 and 85). Ex-
amples from excavations also indicate that some buildings
erected in the end of the 18thcentury partially inherited the
outline of earlier houses of frontier guards. Suchan example
was registered in the town center (next to the Musewn of
Srem at St. Stephen's Square)along Vuk KaradZit street (lo-
cality 38), under which, as we have seen,runs the line of the
main Turkish, medieval, and antique street. Theseexamples
are perhaps the best illustration not only of the essenceof
the establishment of the physical structure of 18th-century
Mitrovica under specific topographic conditions, but also the
essenceof the investigation process, which we discussed at
the beginning.
CONCLUSION
Sremska Mitrovica, as well as other towns in Pannonia,
does not have-'genuine' urban continuity. When Sirmium
opened its gates to the Avars the definitive departu;re of its
inhabitants that followed was only the final act of the great
exodus of the Roman population from the Pannoniantowns.
The Avars, a population of professional plunderers without
urban traditions, were not able fo assume in any way the
antique urban traditions in the way that this was possible
for the Christianized Ostrogoths or Franks in the West. Ac-
cording to archaeologicalinvestigations by Hungarian schol-
ars, the abandon~d antique towns in Pannonia were not re-
settled until the arrival of Hungarians in the end of the 9th
century. This newly arrived non-Roman population, which
settled along the former Roman limes, regularly looked for
refuge in the abandonedlegionary fortifications, and around
them they developedtheir agricultural activities. At the same
time, the revitalization of the network of Roman roads made
possible the development of trade!4 Well-preserved antique
buildings were adapted and acquired new functions. It is
clear that these phenomenado not represent the continuity
of antique towns in Pannonia but rather reveal that process
of settlement organization of the newly arrived non-Roman
population, as well as the Rornanized one in the West four
centuries earlier (in the time of the revitalization and restruc-
turing of antique towns after barbarian invasions), was di-
rected by the same instinct of self-preservation. Hence, in
towns with urban continuity, disregarding the relative
amount of Roman or barbarian population, life continued
on the ruins of antiquity with new social and economic rela-
tionships. In that context, old antique towns could have re-
mained inhabited even after barbarian invasionsif they could
provide the population with favorable conditions for further
existence.Theseare first of all the protection of the popula-
tion and swift revitalization of its economic basis (the deve-
lopment of agriculture, trade, and craftsmanship). Finally,
in the life of one profoundly Christianized population the
continual usability of old town churches or the construction
of new ones at well-known cult locations ':\Tasof great im-
portance.
What was the relation of Sirmium and medieval Mitrovica
from that point of view? The repeated more serious occupa-
tion of Sirmium in the time of Byzantium in the 11thand 12th
century was certainly not the manifestation of either ethni-
cal or material continuity. The continuity of the church could
not be proven either, although it is certain that it existed in
the literary Christian tradition either in the Orient or in Latin
West where the refugees from Sirmium headed to, carrying
with them the relics of their Christian martyrs and the his-
torical memory of their once famous town. Great migra-
tions happened also later, as is the case with the forcible
relocation of the Mitrovica population to Asia Minor after
the battle of Nicopolis. The most drastic consequenceof such
migrations could be seenin the fact that in modem Mitrovica
not a single existing church was built at a previously well-
known cult place.The first church of St.Demetrius of Thessa-
lonica erected in Sirmium in the 5thcentury did not survive
the invasion of the Huns. When the second church of St.
Demetrius was erected in the 11thcentury, nothing was
known about the existence of the earlier one (from the 5th
century). However, there are significant mdications for the
archaeological confirmation of the location of this later one
(from the 11thcentury). That archaeology is the most effi-
cient discipline for elucidating the past was confirmed in the
M. Jeremic: The Relationshipbetween...157
excavations of 2003, when we discoveredthe medievalGothic
cathedral church of St. Mary. The assumption that the chapel
built next to the cathedral could be identified as the Church
of St Mcholas(Hospitaler?)mentioned in the historical sour-
ces seems logical. The small Church of St. Stephen on the
bank of the Sava,as archaeological excavations in 1980con-
firmed with certainty, had not been built on the ruins of an
earlier sacred structure. Under the church were found the
walls of Roman baths, the existence of which had not been
known in the time of construction of this small church (prob-
ably in the 18thcentury).
That something, which decided the fate of Sirmium, as
well as other Roman towns in Pannonia,is the historical exo-
dus of the Roman population. And that which caused Sir-
mium, after four centuries, to become alive again was not
the ruins of the antique town but the happy coincidence of
natural favorable conditions for the protection of its inhabi-
tants offered by the marshes and the crossing point of an-
tique commtmications revived agaiR in the Middle Ages.
Antique architecture followed by medieval architecture was
accepted toLhe degree that its remains (preserved due to
circumstances)were suitable for solVingthe practical needs
of a new population. Within the time interval between the
disappearanceof one and the establishmentof the next settle-
ment, whether we are talking about Sirmium, the medieval
town Qvitas SanctiDemetrH:or the Turkish proviIfcial town
and the later larger town of Mitrovica, we notice (disregard-
ing the origin of ethnic groups) only the continuity of peri-
odical settling in one location. This entire repeated cyclical
processwas gO\11g on in the samearea where first, under the
stable geomorphologic conditions and on top of the Celtic
oppidmn,was establishedthe Roman town of Sinnium,whose
'invisible hand' had an impact on the formation of physical
structures of later agglomerationsin the 1,600years to come.

Iln Sreniska Mitrovica today there is not a single building earlier than the 18thcentury that continued its 'life' having some new function. It is considered,
however, that the so-called 'Small Church', or 'Old Church of St. Stephen on the Sava',dates from the Turkish period (171hcentury), but for such a
hypothesis there are no clear and strong arguments, in spite of archaeologicalexcavations conducted in and around the church in 1980.The oldest graves
dist:overed on that occasion in and around the church were dated to the 18thcentury at the earliest.
2 With its 75 ha, Sirmium was the largest Pannonian town, compared to Aquincum (with a civil settlement covering ca 50 ha), Carnuntum (civil
settlement, 60 ha), Savaria (30 ha), and Brigetio (20 ha). Sirmium was slightly smaller in size than Salona(around 80 ha), but it exceeded in size all other
towns in the eastern Adriatic (Pula, Zadar, Doclea),as well as many towns in the east: Serdica (ca 20 ha), Escus(ca 35 ha). On the other hand, it was two
to four times smaller than many towns in the western provinces of the Roman empire: Trier (285 ha), Aquileia (110-125ha), Nimes (ca 200 ha). Sim1ium
thus could be classified as a middle-sized antique town, but in comparison with other Pannonian towns, it was rather large. In that respect the size of
the town certainly corresponded to its political importance as one of imperial residential towns.
3M. JEREMIC,Sim1ium-l'organisation urbaine a fa lumiere de nouvelles recherches in: Die norisch-pannonische Stiidte und das rb'mische Heer im Lichte
der neusten archiiologischen Forschungen, D b1temationale Konferenz fiber norisch-pannonische Stiidte (Budapest-Aquincum 11-14September 2002),
Budapest 2005, p. 199.
4For instance, in the course of archaeological excavations investigators have discovered that cracks on some of the buildings With massive walls were
the consequence of land subsidence occurring during the existence of Sim1ium.
5 A. M6csy, Pannonia and Upper Moesia, London 1974,p. 310. This has also been encountered in some other urban situations with similar natural
conditions in the territory of Pannonia. M6csy concludes that the settling of the wealthier class of the town population outside the town walls in the
northern part of Pannonia in the 4th century is archaeologically confirmed.
6V. POPOVIC,A Survey of the Topography and urban Organisation of Sim1ium in the Late Empire, in: Sim1ium 1, Belgrade 1971,p. 122.
7A. PREMK, M. JEREMlC,Sremska Mitrovica-Sim1ium-archaeological report, in: Starinar 41; Belgrade 1996,p. 300-303.
8 VTIRuvruS, The Ten Books on Architecture, book 4, New York 1960,p. 17.
9 In that respect we can at this moment express our disagreement with P. Milosevic,who considered Kalvarija hill as the location of the oppidum of the
pre-Roman population. P. MlLOSEVIC, Arheologija i istorija Sim1iuma, Novi Sad 2001, p. 16.
10O. BRUKNER, Prilog proutavanju urbanog razvoja Sim1iuma,in: Gradja 11-12,Novi Sad 1982,p. 18-20 ; O. BRUKNER,V. DAillOVA-RUSEVLJANIN,
Architectural-Constructional Complex of VIDa Urbana in Sim1ium in: Gradja 21, Novi Sad, 2004, p. 58.
II At locality 72, in the central town zone, many fragments of Celtic cups were registered in the trenches at a depth of over 5 meters, while at locality
85 (first in 2002 and later in 2005)architectural remains consisting of wattle and daub were recorded. In 2002, next to a segment of a floor of burned earth
together with characteristic pottery, a grinding stone and applique for a horse harness was also found. The results of these investigations have not yet
been published.
12On the necropolis of Scordisci see: A. SZOMBATHY,La Tene -Fund van Mitrovitz an der Save in Sfavonijen,in: Mitteilungen der Anthropologie, Men
20, Band- 1, 2, Heft 10, Wien 1890,p. 10 ; J. BRUNSMlD, ArheoloSke biljeske jz Sfavonijei Panonijein: VH;4DS; Zagreb 1901,p. 73-77.
13M JEREMIC,Main Urban Comunication in Sim1ium,in: Rb'mischeStiidte und Festungen an der Donau, Akten der regionalen Konferenz (Beograd 16-
19 Oktober 2003), Beograd 2005, p. 90-93 and p. 96, fig. 2 and 3.
14V. POPOVIC,Juinadunavske provincije u kasnoj antici ad kraja IV do sredine V veka in: Sim1ium, ni na nebu ni na zemlj, Sremska Mitrovica 2003,
p. 306. Discussing this complex of churches, V. Popovic believes, and with reason, that material continuity when the Late Roman martyrium in
MaCvanska Mitrovica is concerned does not automatiCally mean 'genuine continuity' represented in the continuity of interments.
15During the first hydro-archaeological campaign conducted in the Savanear SremskaMitrovica in 1995about 300 meters upstream from the pontoon
bridge (recently removed) were registered (along the line, which could theoretically overlap the line of the Roman bridge Pons Basentis) the remains of
40 massive oak piles with characteristic iron 'caps' on their tops that had been driven into the riverbed. This clearly appears to be a confirmation of the
assumption of V. Popovic about the existence of the west Sirmium bridge. V. POPOVIC,Kultni kontinuitet i literama tradicija u crkvi srednjovekovnog
Sim1iuma, in: Sim1ium 12, Belgrade 1980,p. ill-IV.
16In 2004 the area of the Savariverbed in the direction of locality Ita (imperial palace)was investigated. Despite bad conditions for investigation due
to high water levels, according to the information provided by the divers in the riverbed, the remains of a massive masonry structure was located.
Investigations at this site are to be continued, but in any case the position of the bridge opposite the imperial palace is very logical.

158
 17A. F. MARSII1US, Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus, Haag -Amsterdam 1726,n, p. 46.
" 18P. MILOSEVlC, IstraZivanje rimskog puta Sinnium -Bononia i sitmiumskog vodovoda,in: Arheoloki pregled 11, Beograd.1970,p. 199-201.
19V. POPOVIC, Desintegration und Ruralisation der Stadt im Ost-DyJicum vom V bis VIl Jahrhundert n.Ol. in: Palast und Hate -Symposium der
Alexander van Humboldt -Stfftung Bonn -Bad Goclesberg(venmstaltet vom 25.-30. November 1979 in Berlin), Mainz am Rhein, 1982,p. 545-556.
2OV. TOMIC, Menandar in: VJZantijskiizvori za istoriju naroda JugosJavije,1: 1, Beograd 1955,p. 96. .
21V. POPOVIC,A Survey of dIe topography...1971, op. cit. p. 131.
22The monocellular concept of 'humble' habitations need not be a rule. At locality 4 (VIDa urbana)to the north of hippodrome, some of the structures
from the 5thto the 6th century (of fragments of Roman brick laid in mud) had only one room, but others had more tqan one. M. PAROVIC-Pr;SIKAN,
Excal'ation of a Late Roman VIDaat Sinnium, in: Sinnium 2, Belgrade 1971,p. 30-33 and Plan 5. J.

23Such an example was registered in trench JB/150;V. POPOVIC,E. OCHSENSQGER, Kasnocarski hipodrom u Sinniumu in: Starinar 26; Beograd
1976,p. 69, fig. 9.
24Ibid p. 65 and p. 68.
25For method of construction of these hearths see M. JEREMlC,L1Jippodromme de Sinnium a la lumiere de nouveUes recherches, in: CoUectionde
l:4Dtiquite Tardive 5 -De infima antiquitate, studiola in honorem Noel Duval; Turnhout, Paris, 2004, p. 5, figs. 3 and 4.
26Particularly interesting is the well-preserved skeleton of the deceased with a dagger discovered not far from the Gepidean hut at locality 85 in 2005.
Results have not been published.
27This church was excavated on two occasions,in 1978and in 1981.V. POPOVIC,1987, op. dt., p. 549-552; M. JEREMlC,L'architecture de Sinnium aUK
ve et VIe siecle, in: Saopstenja34, Belgrade, 2002, p. 44-51. -
28M. JEREMlC,2002, op. cit., p. 51 and p. 56.
29V. POPOVIC, 1987, op. cit., p. 549-552.
30V. POPOVIC, Kult svetog Dimitrija Solunskog u Sirmiumu i u Raveni, in: Sirmium i na nebu i na zemlj, Sremska Mitrovica 2004, p. 97-98;
M. JEREMIC,Kultne gradevine hriStanskog Sinniuma in: Sinnium i na nebu i na zemlj, 2004, p. 64-69; M. JEREMIC,'2002, p. 44-51.
31Judging by the remains of the suspensura of the hypocaustum in a room b (figs. 9, 10)that already had no ceiling, this Paleobyzantine structure had
installations for heating using hot air. Suspensurae,either as small monolithic stone columns, or built of fragments of Roman bricks laid in clay mortar,
were placed directly on the ground. Remains of praefurnium channel were registered in the functional damage of the podium wall. M. JEREMIC,2002,
p. 53-!i5; M. JEREMIC,2004, p. 13 (figs. and 14).
32F. BARISIC, VJZantijskiizvori za istoriju naroda JugosJavije1, Belgrade, 1955,p. 97-98.
r1:Io'N.
DlN AL, E. MARIN, C. METZGER, Manastirine; etablissement pre romain, necropole et basilique paieochretienne in : Salona 3 (Collection de l'Ecole~
fran4;:aisede Rome -194/3, N. Duval, E. Marin, dir.), Roma 2002, p. 580-581.From the inscription on the sarcophagus we found out that, as a twelve-
year-old girl, Sister Joan (lohanna) fled from Sirmium before the Avars and took the veil in the monastery near Salona (the present-day site of
'Manastirine'), where she died at the age of 40 on 12 May 612. It is assumed that the inscription on the sarcophagus of Joan of Sirmium is the last
inscription engraved at this necropolis, as in the same year Salonafell.
34B. FERJANOC, Sinnium u doba VJZantije,in: Sinnium-Sremska Mitrovica, Sremska Mitrovica, 1969,p. 50.
35K. JIRECEK,HriStanski elemenat u topografskoj nomenklaturi bafkanskih zemalja, in: Zbomik Konstantina Jireeeka 1, Beograd, 1959,p. 525.
~ B. FERJANOC, Sinnium u doba VJZantije...1969,op. cit., p. 53.
37V. POPOVIC, Sinnium-Mitrovica (Sremska i MaCvanskaJ,in: Sinnium i na nebu i na zemlj, Sremska Mitrovica, 2q04, p. 81-86.
38V. Popovic points out that in the case of the complex of churches in MaCvanskaMitrovica we could not speak of 'genuine' material continuity. V.
POPOVIC,L'e'vechede Sinnium et l'eglise medievale dans les Balkans, in: Sinnium 11,Belgrade. 1980,preface -p. I-V.
39E. FOGEDI, Medieval Topography of Fehervar, in: Alba Regia 13, 1974,p. 303.
40 Ibid, 303.
41S. CIRKOVIC, Ovitas Sancti Demetrii, in: Sinnium-Sremska Mitrovica, Sremska Mitrovica, 1969,p. 64-68.
42Ibid, 63. The text of the charter concerns the property settlement between two families in which one of the families had purchased parts or building
lots in the antique palace and thermae that are situated in the town of Saint Demetrius: '..in PaUacioet bahleo in civitate Sancti Demetrii situate..' It is
quite possible that the structures concerned are the dominant building of massive construction, the imperial palace (locality l/a), and the thermae at the
adjacent locality 31 (to the west of locality l/a).
43Ibid, 63.
44 Ibid, 63.
45P. MATKOVIC, Putovanje Marka Antuna Pigafete u Carigrad; in: Starine JAZU 116;1893,p. 184. ..
46A. F. MARSII1US, op. cit. p. 46. After a careful analysis of Marsilius' drawings, it could be concluded that all monuments of Sirmium recorded (by his
hand) were situated in the area of the necropolis of the antique town that is not in the settlement.
47N. DlNAL, V. POPOVIC, HoLTeaet dIennes aUK abords du rempart Bud; in: Sinnium 7;Rome, 1977,p. 55-56,p. 91-100and Pl. VII.
48On the medieval architecture at locality 85 see the report: M. HEIJMANS, M. JEREMIC, Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbie-et-MontenegroJ
Campagne 2002/2003, in: MEFRA, 1: 116;Roma, 2004, p. 687-690.
49L. GEREVICH, HungaJ}'; European Towns, London, 1978,p. 35-36, fig. 9.
50Fragments of pottery registered in the earth filling the crypt indicate the 15thcentury period.
51We can assume that the cathedral was fortified also at the south side, but such data are not still available,as the entire south half of the church is under
the pavement and Vuk KaradZic street.
52S. CIRKOVIC, Ovitas Sancti Demetrii.. 1969, op. cit., p. 63.
53 Ibid, 63.
54Monetary offerings in the graves set the chronological framework from the 14thto the 171h
century, and this is corroborated also by other grave objects.
55This interesting and logical interpretation was suggested by the dean of Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb (History of Art Department), Prof. M.
Jurkovic, in Motovun in Istria in May of 2005 during the discussion following a report of this author.
56On this occasion I would like to express my gratitude to my colleague Dragomir Acovic, prominent connoisseur of medieval heraldry (member of
many heraldry associations in Europe and the United States)and author of many works concerning heraldry, who helped me in deciphering the coat of

M. Jertmic: The Relationshipbetween...159

armsmentionedhere.Acovicremarksthat the coat of armsbelongsto the ancientHungarianline Osl(genusOs1)or Ostand initially it hasthe following
blawn: m gold blackwingedeagle'sleg with red claws.Thereis alsoa variationwith a blackwing while the leg with clawsi~.red.Thedocumenteddata
aboutthe first knowncomesand his sonsand brothersdate from 1230.
Among the large number of names of aristocraticfamilies from somewhatlater periods,Acovic suggestsas a possiblesolution for this casethe
Kanizsayfamily. This family has providedseveralbishopsand archbishops,amongwhomare IstvanI (bishopof Zagreband ban of Slavoniain 1363)
and Istvan II (archbishopof Gran).Their coat of arms usuallyhas the representationof a bishop'spedium.Their coat of arms differs from the family
one,as the blawn is blue and the leg and clawsare golden,but (accordingto Acovic)in the patent letter of DorotheaKanizsayof 1519(marriedfirst to
FerencGereband later to Istvan Pereny)the wing is again on a goldenblawn.
57This medievalstreetwas about5 meterswide.Its traffic lane (somekind of pavementconsistingof fragmentsof R~manbricksand stoneJ:Ubble) had
beenrenovatedat leasttwo times.The streetwas dropping in the eastand west in relationto the longitudinalaxis thus havingsomekind of shallow
trough for rain water to drain off.
58All three structureshad beenbuilt of fragmentsof Romanbricks. Claymortar was used on two of themand lime mortar on the third.
59m one of the housespart of a Romanwall was completelycut out and removedto createthe cellar.See:fig. 30.
60I am grateful to my colleague0.. Brukner for providingme with thesedata.The results of theseinvestigationshave not beenpublished.
61The results of theseinvestigationshave not beenpublished.
62This concernstrenches142,143/b,and 144/b.See:V. POPOVIC, E. OCHSENSCHLAGER, op. cft. p. 69.
63Locality49 wasexcavatedin 1973.Data concerningmedievalarchitecturehave not beenpublished.
64N. DUVAL,V. POPOVIC,HolTea...1977, op. cit.,p. 55-56,p. 91-100and Pl. VII.
65Archaeological investigationsat locality85 started in 2002and are still in progress.We would like to mentionthat all the walls of medievalstruGtures
of so-called'solid material'were made of either completeor fragmentedRomanbricks. Suchpracticecontinuedalso in the Turkishperiod.As far as
bricks as buildingmaterialin Mitrovica are concerned,from the Romantimes until the beginningof the Austriandomination,onlyRomanbricks taken
from abandonedRomanbuilding were used.m other words,more than 1,700yearspassedbeforea new type of brick was used:the Austrianformat,
similar tp the modernbrick format, the sizeof which was 30 x 15x 6 cm with minor oscillations. '
66H. YON OTTENDORF, Bud.1r61Belgnidba1663-Ban(H. Egyeded.),1943,p. 64.
67S. ClRKOVIC,Civitas...1969,op. cit., p. 67.
68Ibid p. 68-69,
69B. DJURDJEV, .SeherMitrovica,in: Sim1ium-Sremska
Mitrovica,SremskaMitrovica, 1969,p. 73-74.
.711
E. CELEBI,Putopis,Sarajevo,1967,p. 354.
71Thereare opinions that churchof St. Stephanby the Savariver also knownas 'Smallchurch'dates from the end of the 171h
century.V. PETROVIC,
Srpskaumetnost u VojvlJdil1l;
Novi Sad,1927,p. 79.
72C.W.}:EUOT,GenadeionNotes,m (Athenain the Time ofLord Byron),in: Hesperia~ 31';No.2, 1968,p. 14-15.
73P. MILOSEVlC,EarlierarchaeologicalActivity in Sim1ium,in: Sim1ium2, 1971,p. 10-11.
74L. GEREVlCH,Hungary...1978. op. cit., p. 438.

ODNOS URBANIH FIZICKIH STRUKTURA SREDNjOVjEKOVNE MITROVICE I RIMSKOG SIRMUA

SAZETAK

Sremska Mitrovica, kao i ostall gradovi u Panoniji, nema
'pravi' urbani kontinuitet. Kada je Sirmij otvorio vrata grada
Avarima, definitivni odlazak njegovih stanovnika koji je usli-
jedio biD je sarno zavrsni tin velikog egzodusa romanske
populacije panonskih gradova. Avari, narod profesionah1ih
pljackasa, bez urbanih navika, nisu bili u stanju u bilo kojem
obliku preuzeti anticke urbane tradicije, kao sto su to na
primjer mogli na Zapadu pokrsteni Ostrogoti ili Franci. Pre-
ma rezultatima arheoloskih istraZivanja madarskih autora,
napusteni anticki gradovi u Panoniji sve do dolaska Ugara,
krajem IX. stoljeCa,nisu bili naseljavani.Novodoslaneroman-
ska populacija, koja se nastanjuje duz nekadasnjegrimskog
limesa, redovno je traZila zastitu u napustenim legionarskim
utvrdenjima, uz kojese pocinju razvijati poljoprivredne aktiv-
nosti. Istovremeno oZivljavanjernrere rimskih puteva omogu-
Cavarazvoj trgovine. Dobro oCuvaneanticke gradevineadap-
tiraju se i dobivaju novu funkciju. Jasnoje da te pojave ne
predstavljaju kontinuitet antickih gradova u Panoniji, all narn
pokazujuda je postupak organizacije naseljajedne novodosle
neromanske populacije, kao i one romanske na Zapadu, cetiri
stoljefu ranije (u vrijeme oZivljavanjai prestruktuiranja antic-
kih gradova poslije invazija barbara), voden istim instinktom
samoodrianja. Jer u gradovima s urbanim kontinuitetom,
nezavisno od toga u kojem postotku je gradska populacija
hila romanska ill barbarska, zivot senastavio na rusevinama
antike u novim socioekonomskim odnosima. U tom kon-
tekstu stari anticki gradovi mogli su i poslije perioda barbar-
skill invazija ostati nastanjeni ako su stanovnistvu mogli
osiguratiuvjete za daljnju egzistenciju.To su prije svegauvjeti
zastite stanovnistva kao i brzo ozivljavanje ekonomske haze
(razvojpoljoprivrede, trgovine i zanatstva).Konacno,u Zivotu
jedne duboko kristijanizirane populacije od velikog znaCaja
je hila i prodliZenaupotrebna vri jednost starih gradskih crka-
va ill podizanje novih na poznatim kultnim mjestima.
Kakavje u tom smislu bio odnos Sirmija i srednjovjekovne
Mitrovice? Ponovno ozbiljnije okupiranje Sirmija u vrijeme
Bizanta u XI. i XII. stoljefu svakako nije bio izraz ni etnickog
ni materijalnog kontinuiteta. Ne moze se dokazati ni konti-
nuitet Crkve, mada je izvjesno da je on postojao u literarnoj
krsamskoj tradiciji, bilo na Orijentu bilo na latinskom Zapadu,

160
kamo se svojedobno i uputilo izbjeglo stanovnistvo Sirmija,
nosocisa sobom moci svojih krStanskih mucenika i povijesno
sjeCanjena svojnekada slavni grad. Velikih migracija bilo je i
kasnije, kao sto je sluCajnasilnog preseljenja mitrovackog
stanovnistva u Malu Aziju, poslije Nikopolske bitke. Naj-
drasticnije izraZena posljedica takvih migracija ogleda se u
cinjenici da u sadasnjojMitrovici nijedna postojeta crkva nije
podignuta na prethodno poznatom kultnom mjestu. Prva
Crkva sv. Dimitrija Solunskog,podignuta u Sirmiju u V. sto-
ljeCu,nije preZivjelanajezduHuna. U vrijeme podizanjadruge
Crkve sv. Dimitrija, uXI. stoljeCu,za postojanjeone prethodne
(iz V. stoljeCa)nije se znalo. Medutim za arheolosku potvrdu
lokacije potonje (iz XI. stoljeCa)ima ozbiljnih indicija. Da je u
rasvjetljavanjuproslosti arheologijanajdjelotvornijadisciplina,
pokazala su iskopavanja2003. godine,kada je otkrivena sred-
njovjekovna goticka katedralna Crkva sv. Marije. Pretpo-
stavka da se kapela podignuta uz katedralu moze identifi-
cirati kao Crkva sv. Nikole (Hospitalera?),a koju spominju
povijesni izvori, ima logike. Mala Crkva sv. Stjepana na Savi,
kako su pouzdano pokazala arheoloska iskopavanja 1980.
nije podignuta na ostacima starije sakralne gradevine. Ispod
nje se nalaze zidovi rimskog kupalista, za cije se postojanje
Hortus Artium Mediev. Vol. 12 137-161
u vrijeme poctizanjaspomenute crkvice (vjerojatno u XVIII.
stoljecu) nije znalo. .
ano sto je odredilo sudbinu Sinnija, kao uostalom i drugih
antickih gradovau Panoniji,to je povijesni egzadusromanske
populacije. A ono sto je ucinilo da poslije cetiri stolje~ Sinnij
ponovno ozivi nisu bile rusevine antickog grada, vec sretan
spojprirodnih pogodnosti za zastitu stanovnika, koje su pru-
Zalemotvare, kao i kriZisna tocka antickih komunikacija po-
novo oZivjelih u srednjemvijeku. Anticka arhitektura, na koju
se nadovezalasrednjovjekovna, prihvacena je u onoj mjeri u
kojtij su njeni, stjecajemokolnosti safuvani ostaci, hili pogodni
da rijese prakticne potrebe nove populacije. U vremenskom
intervalu izmedunestanka jednog i nastanka drugog naselja,
bilo da se racti 0 Sinniju, srednjovjekovnom gradu Civitas
Sancti Demetriibilo turskoj kasabi, a potom i seheruMitro-
vici, mozemo vidjeti, nezavisnoad porijekla etnickih grupacija,
sarno kontinuitet povremene naseljenostijedne iste lokacije.
Otav taj umnozeni cikliCni proces advijao sena istom prosto-
ru, gdje je prvi, u stalnim geomorfoloskimuvjetima, nad kelt-
skim opidumom, osnovan anticki grad, Sirmium, cija je "ne-
vidljiva ruka" djelovalai u formiranju fizickih struktura mladih
aglomeracijatijekom narednili 16QO godina.
remit THE RElA110NSHIP
BETWEEN.. 161