Roman Grave Unearthed at Future Farmers’ Market Site in Vinkovci
A planned farmers’ market in eastern Croatia has become the setting for an unusually well-preserved Roman discovery. Archaeologists excavating the site in Vinkovci uncovered an intact brick grave within an ancient necropolis associated with Colonia Aurelia Cibalae, the Roman-era city that once stood there.
The burial ground is believed to date to the 2nd or 3rd centuries CE. In the newly found grave, researchers identified the remains of one male skeleton, together with an iron object and a fragment of bronze. The find stands out because other graves in the necropolis have contained more varied offerings, including small glass bottles likely used for perfume or oils and fibulae, the ornamental brooches worn in Roman dress.
The necropolis first drew attention in March, when local officials announced the broader discovery. Josip Romić, the mayor of Vinkovci, said at the time that the graves were thought to belong to the 2nd or 3rd centuries CE. The area being excavated overlaps with the northern necropolis of Cibalae, a city of particular historical interest: it was the birthplace of the Roman emperors Valentinian I, born in 321 CE, and Valens, born in 328 CE.
Hrvoje Vulić, director of the Vinkovci City Museum, told Croatia Week that the man buried in the brick grave was likely between 40 and 45 years old when he died. Researchers now plan additional analysis of the remains in hopes of learning more about the individual and the burial itself.
For archaeologists, the significance of the find lies not only in its preservation but in its context. A single grave can sharpen the picture of a larger cemetery, and a larger cemetery can, in turn, illuminate how a Roman provincial city lived, buried its dead, and marked status in death.
