30. ROMAN TOMB

Location: Silistra

GPS:

Opening hours: upon request


The most well-known ancient monument at Durostrorum-Silistra in Bul­garia and abroad is the tomb with the frescoes, discovered in 1942. It is believed to be an emblematic work of the civilization in Late Antiquity from the mid-4th century. The tomb has a rectangular tomb chamber and semi-cylindrical arches. It is made of semi-worked stones, bonded with pink mortar, and the vault was made of bricks. It is oriented from the east to the west and has dimensions of 3.30х2.60 m, with a height of 2.30 m. The entrance is from the east, flanked by three large stone slabs, and the floor was bricked. The walls were plastered with lime mortar, mixed with gypsum, on which, before be­ing dried, the colours of the frescoes were added, using the fresco al secco technique.
The rich mural decorations (geometric, animal and human figures, hunting scenes, a family couple and their servants) bear the distinc­tive features of the Constantine Age and one can feel the style of a gifted painter coming from the eastern provinces of the Empire (pos­sibly Egypt or Syria).Probably the owner left the city during the Gothic invasion at the end of the 4th century, which is why the tomb was not used for its original purpose.