Cultural site: Municipium S

History

Apart from Risinium and Dokleja, Municipium S, one of the three urban centers from the era of Roman domination, in which the complex process of Romanization after the conquest of Illyricum, had a specific course. It is assumed that Municipium S received its municipal status in the middle of the 2nd century AD. The movable archeological material of the Komin necropolis II indicates the greater economic power of the inhabitants of the settlement and is related to the development of Municipio S itself,

which experienced its rise in the period from the 2nd to the 4th century AD. Based on epographic inscriptions on stone monuments, it is possible to conclude that in the necropolis II in the period from the II to the IV century AD, mostly natives and immigrants from the coastal cities of the Roman province of Dalmatia were buried.1 The assumption is that the city was abandoned in the 5th century, when the life of the city ends, it was reconstructed on the basis of found movable finds: luxury ceramics, glass and metal. Certainly, the greatest support in this process is roughly provided by the findings of Roman money made in various coins, which is another confirmation of Municipium S, as a cosmopolitan city.

Cultural site details

In the village of Komini, which is 2 km away from Pljevlja, there is an archeological site, Municipium S, which covers the area above the river Vezičnica and the river Ćehotina, located in a larger field as well as the town of Pljevlja. The remains of the settlement - Municipia S in Komine, lie on a high plateau, called Međe. Remains of rubble from Roman buildings, which are overgrown with tall vegetation, can be recognized in this area. Between the overgrown bushes are smaller meadows, which stretched the streets, which connected Roman buildings.3 Also in the area where Municipium S (Međe) is presumed, minor sounding tests were performed in 1971. They confirmed the existence of an ancient settlement next to most of the then explored necropolis in Komini. On that occasion, one building was found, the central part of which remained unexamined, but hypocaust columns were visible in the profile. At the place of the entrance to the city, in the north of grave alley II, which was presumed to be the city gate, traces of a stone tied with mortar were found. Several excavations were conducted in 2007 and 2008, as well as in 2017 and 2018, when archeological excavations and conservation works were carried out at this site.

Today, there are numerous remains of Roman buildings and stone sculptures on the site. Remains of several buildings can be seen on the site, as well as two well-preserved tombs, one of which belongs to Aurelia Maximina, and the other to Paconia Montana. These tombs are a type of above-ground tombs (arae macaria cincta) and date from the second half of the 3rd century AD. The research was conducted in two sectors marked as necropolis I and II. Necropolis I covers the area on the plateau of Beli brdo, and necropolis II covers the area between Beli brdo and the river Vezičnica. An exceptional archeological discovery in necropolis II is a tomb with a lead sarcophagus, in which, in addition to the inhumed deceased and a large number of glass vessels, a unique glass cup with the inscription - diatrette was found. Among the tombstones in necropolis II, three basic forms can be distinguished, namely chips, stelae and cubes, but also a small number of votive arenas. In addition to these tombstones, there are also examples of solid plastic, such as lion figures. The stone monuments mostly have an inscription, on the sides they are decorated with human figures, representations of genius, Attis. In their style and motive, they represent a significant fund of Illyrian-Roman art, unique in the territory of today's Montenegro and beyond.