Tri rimske bronzane posude iz Narodnog muzeja u Čačku

Abstract

Rimske bronzane posude: dve situle i kaserola, otkrivene su slučajno prilikom izgradwe porodične kuće u centru Čačka 1960. Vedra su opredeljena u poznate tipove Bargfeld i Hemoor, koji su široko rasprostranjeni u Rimskom carstvu, a posebno duž rajnskog i dunavskog limesa, gde se, mahom, nalaze kao uobičajeni delovi vojničke opreme, dok kaserola pripada vrlo retkom tipu sa pomičnom drškom, takođe nošenom u vojničkom prtljagu kao posuda za pripremanje hrane, a posebno za pečenje hleba. Sve tri posude mogu se opredeliti u period II-III v., kada su na mestu današnjeg Čačka, tada graničnoj oblasti provincija Gornje Mezije i Dalmacije, bile stacionirane jedinice Cohors VIII voluntariorum, Cohors II Delmatorum, kao i beneficijariji iz redova Legio XI Claudia.

Three Roman copper alloy vessels, rare in western Serbia, were found in 1960 in central Čačak. Two buckets (situlae) and one pan (trulla), were discovered by chance, during construction work, in the vicinity of a massive Roman wall built of stone and mortar. The first bucket (fig. 1/1), (Reg. No. A 721) well preserved, has a bi-conical body with the rim turned on the outer side (dimensions: rim diameter 20-20.5 cm; base diameter 14.5 cm; height 17 cm). The shoulder of the vessel is positioned at 2/3 of its height which identified this situla as the Barfeld type dating from 1st to 2nd century A.D. Several finds of buckets belonging to this popular type have been made in Serbia, mostly dredged from the river Sava at Sremska Rača near Sirmium. Nevertheless, it resembles most closely the situla from the National Museum at Vršac, probably found in the vicinity of Stara Palanka. The second bucket (fig. 1/2) (Reg. No. A 722) identified as a Hemoor type situla is partially preserved (dimensions: rim diameter 16 cm; height 8 cm; handle diameter 0.8 cm). The upper body of the vessel is adorned with two pairs of parallel incised lines. The vessel is made of copper tin alloy (thickness: 1.5-2 mm) and has a greenish patina. Hemoor type buckets were found in great numbers both within the Roman empire and outside its borders. They were dated to 200-300 A.D. and divided into two variants. Samples from Serbia belong to the Pannonian variant with shallower recipient, low ring-like foot and almost circular handle holders. Analogies from the territory of the Sava and Danube valleys are known from Osijek (Mursa) in Croatia and the site Groblje at Šetjernej in Slovenia, as well as from some Pannonian urban centres (Sophiana, Intercisa, Vindobona). The third vessel (fig. 2), (Reg. No. A 723) exceptional in shape, was beaten from a copper alloy sheet with a high percentage of copper which gives the alloy its intensive red color (dimensions: base diameter 24 cm; height 4 cm; handle length of 14 cm; handle width 2.5 cm). It is made in the shape of a round shallow recipient with vertical sides and single folding handle positioned horizontally. Vessels of this peculiar shape resembling modern frying pans, were certainly used for food processing, most probably for bread baking (Bratpfanne). The chronology of these vessels, made of copper alloy or iron, spans the period from the middle of 2nd to the end of the first third of the 3rd century A.D. They have been found all over the Roman empire: Britain, France, Southern Italy Austria, Germany and all the way to Egypt. The pan belongs to the unusual type of Roman bronze vessels rare both in the Central Balkans and over a broader territory. The only analogy from Serbia that is known to us comes from the limes in the Iron Gates gorge. It was found in a hoard of bronze vessels uncovered at the Roman fortress Campsa near Ravna, dated to the first half of the 3rd century A.D. The copper alloy vessels from Čačak should be connected most probably to the presence of the Roman army in this territory already confirmed by several votive inscriptions. These inscriptions mention a centurion of Cohors VIII voluntariorum, beneficiarii from Legio XI Claudia and even the military tribune of Cohors II Delmatorum. According to epigraphic data, a Roman military fortification of ca. 5 ha should be expected in the vicinity of Čačak, dated as early as the end of the 2nd and with more certainty during the 3rd century. A camp of that size would have been large enough to accommodate the cohors milliaria equitata garrison mentioned in votive inscriptions. The presence of a Roman garrison of such a considerable number and character in the vicinity of Čačak can be explained by the strategic importance of this territory on the crossroads of important Roman land communications between the provinces of Upper Moesia and Dalmatia as well as the importance of the Roman silver mines at Kosmaj and Rudnik nearby.