GOSTILITSA
Diskoduratera
Heading out of the village towards Dryanovo, there is a path across the fields to the Roman ruins of Diskoduratera. The path was marked with red and white striped paint though it has been a bit neglected in recent years. The path goes across fields, over a little bridge and through the trees, passing an old abandoned flour mill before continuing to the ruins. At the site there are (or were) some information boards and numerous excavated pits, the remains of a boundary wall and several marble columns covered in Roman writing. When I went with my sister and niece in 2011, we also found bones and teeth scattered around the site, some animal some human, including part of a human skull!
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"Diskoderatera" means "Double Collar Fortress." Built and settled in the second half of the 2nd century, it was founded during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius by the citizens of Augusta Trayana, and became one of the main markets in the Lower Danubian provinces. A wide route lead from Nicopolis ad Istrum to Augusta Trayana, Constantinople and Asia Minor. The Thracian market place called Diskoderatera was a big customs station between Moesia and Thrace. There was also a mint. In the 3rd century, it was destroyed by the Goths, later rebuilt to reach its peak in the 5th-6th century, when the Slavs came again, as a station convenient for rest and overnight stay. After that, for a time, life here faded, only to resume again through the Second Bulgarian State. The Slavonic name of Gostilitsa comes from this station for guests/travellers.
During the archaeological excavations, fortress walls, towers, buildings and other finds were found. The Roman fortress was declared of national importance in 1967 as an architectural monument of culture from Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
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The map below shows the route with the extra detour to the old flour mill included and a short (though less pleasant) return to Gostilitsa by the main road. Total distance about 5.5km
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There are several sources of information on Diskoduratera, including an information board in the Gostilitsa Outdoor Museum. Here are a couple of extra details based on archaeological findings:
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"The market place is located at the intersection of the ancient road from Augusta Trayana ( Stara Zagora ) to Nicopolis ad Istrum (near the village of Nikyup ) and Nove (near the town of Svishtov ). From an ordinary road station, it quickly became one of the main markets in the Lower Danubian provinces of Rome.
There was a large customs station, and was set out in the form of similar Roman facilities - a rectangle with corners oriented to the four main compass points. The fortress was 120 to 100 meters in size and was protected from the southwestern side by the natural deep ditch of the nearby Uzunovo gully, on the north there was an impassable swamp and the southeastern side was inaccessible due to the high 12-15m bank of the Yantra river . There were three angular round and three intermediate rectangular towers. In the center was a large building with a colonnade. By the southwest gate were inscriptions, fragments and statues.
North of the fortress over the gully of the Malkoyalarski River still remains a Roman bridge.
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There is an inscription which reads:
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Good luck.
Marcus Aurelius
The German emperor of the
Sarmatian pastoral state or the
city of Bethlehem
of the original builder
of the disciple of the Disciples,
the head of the district
Aselio of Emilian
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The City of the Thracians erected a statue of its founding Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonin, German, Sarmathic, Midian, Parthian at the Diskoduratera Market, when the provincial governor was Aselio Emilian.
Major archeological researches are carried out from 1958 to 1961 by the Veliko Tarnovo Museum , under the guidance of archaeologist Bogdan Sultov, who details the fortress walls, towers and facilities inside the fortress."
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"The fortress was built in a naturally protected area. From the southeast the river Yantra passed by forming a high, steep bank on the side of the fortress. A deep gully passed from the southwest. In the northeast in ancient times there was a swamp. Only from the northwest was the site accessible, where there was a carved deep moat, which continued on the side of the swamp. On average, the fort rose 15m above the river level. The fortress was approximately rectangular. It was accessed only by the southwest wall, which at the entrance of the fortress visibly made a bump. The size of the walls were 94m, northeast - 114m, southeast - about 85m (the south corner of the fortress was eroded by the river) and southwest to the gate 42m, and from the gate to the river bank - 85m. The total area was approximately 12 decares. The fortress walls were 1.4m thick and were built of medium-sized stones bridged with white mortar. The faces of the stones were dressed. The pointing was oiled. At a height of 2.2m at the north tower there were traces of brick belts. The fortress had only one gate - the southwestern fortress wall. It was guarded by an inner tower. From the gate was a road that continued to the northwest where it was connected to the main road. In the four corners of the fortress there was a round tower of different sizes. North - 4.1m in diameter, west - 3.75m, east - 2.95m, southern tower was taken by the river and its dimensions are unknown. On the northeastern fortress wall around the center, there is a quadrilateral tower measuring 5.1x3.95m. On the north-western wall in the middle there was also a rectangular outer tower measuring 5.9x4.6 m. On the southwestern fortress wall in the southern part there was a rectangular tower with irregular shape, measuring 5.7x5.2x4.08m. In all likelihood, the Southeastern fortress wall had a tower in the middle, but it was taken by the Yantra River. The fortress walls were erected at the end of the third century or the beginning of the 4th century. In the 5th century or more, after 423AD, Diskoduratera was abandoned under the threat of the Huns' invasions. In th 13th-14th centuries, during the Second Bulgarian State, the place was again inhabited. The fortress arose as a Roman road station. Later, it also received the name emporium (marketplace), which by the Early Byzantine era was untenable. As interpreted by earlier researchers, the name Diskoduratera means "Double Fortress", although this does not correspond to the reality of the structure."
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Plan of the site:
