HERACLEA Bitola Traditional Cache
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Because container obviously lost, turning it into virtual. Send your photo, taken at the entrance to my e-mail and Log visits.
Because container obviously lost, turning it into virtual. Send your photo, taken at the entrance to my e-mail and Log visits.
Heraclea Linkestis is a cultural heritage site of international significance. It is located south of Bitola, 15 km from the border with Greece. The history of this site became a subject of great interest at the end of the19th and at the beginning of the 20th century, not only in Macedonia, but also within the scope of the broader international archaeological research.
Fortunate historic circumstances and geographical aspects contributed to Heraclea's prosperity in the ancient world. The terminus ante quem of the city’s foundation is provided by Demosten, who refers to Heraclea in the context of the first Philippic war (349 BC).
Situated in a fertile valley, the city was mentioned on all known itinerary maps of its time as a station on the Via Egnatia – the famous regional road of the classical epoch. In the first centuries of our era, Heraclea became a Roman colony, event confirmed by the inscription from the beginning of the 3rd century AD, displaying a well-known name of a Roman dynasty – Septimia Aurelia Heraclea. For many centuries, it remained within the borders of the Roman Empire and developed into an urban centre of considerable importance, it is still witnessed, by monuments such as the entrance gate to the Court House, the Thermal Baths and the Theatre.
However, the apex in the prosperity of Heraclea corresponds to the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, when this city became the seat of a Bishopric. Bishops from Heraclea have been mentioned as participants in Ecumenical Councils from the 4th to the 6th century. Many buildings, amongst which, the Great Basilica, the Small Basilica and the Episcopal residence, date from this period. The floors of each of these buildings are paved with spectacular mosaics, discovered between 1960 and 1974, and are considered amongst the most impressive and remarkable remains from the Early Christian period anywhere. The mosaic floors of 16 rooms (an area of 1,300m²), executed according to various techniques, represent a unique pictorial testimony of their time and an exceptional illustration of the passage between paganism and Christianity. One of the most significant buildings is the city’s fountain, whose inauguration is set by an inscription to 10 September 562 AD, celebrating 35 years of rule of the Emperor Justinian I.
Just as many other cities of the Classical period, Heraclea declined at the end of the 6th century AD. According to historic sources, between the end of the 6th century and the beginning of the 7th century, Slavic tribes settled in this region, as attested by numerous remains.
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