4
Visitors to the National History Museum in Sofia can now take a virtual walk in the temple of the ancient Roman goddess of happiness and fortune Fortuna. The building is part of the former Roman colony of Ulpia Oescus near the present-day Bulgarian village of Gigen, near the Danube River. The virtual restoration reveals in the smallest details all the splendor and beauty of the former temple and is now part of the permanent exhibition of Bulgaria’s National History Museum.
The Temple of Fortune (templum Fortunae) was located in the Forum complex of Ulpia Оеscus. It has been fully discovered and studied by archaeologists. The building was constructed in the Corinthian style. According to a Latin inscription, the temple was dedicated to the Roman emperor Commodus (180-192) and was built with the funds of the then "association of craftsmen" (collegium fabrorum) in 190.
The colonnade of the courtyard was decorated with a frieze - architraves with embossed bull heads and laurel garlands. The temple consisted of an entrance hall and a cult room. Its southern façade had four Corinthian columns. On the triangular pediment there were two Victorias depicted, holding a laurel wreath. Inside, in the wreath, was a relief image - probably the head of Medusa, to protect against evil. The temple complex was destroyed by the Goths or by an earthquake in 376-378.
You can find more interesting details related to the tumultuous story of the ancient Roman city of Ulpia Oescus here:
Compiled by Veneta Nikolova
Photos: National History Museum
English version Rositsa Petkova
They call Nikopol “the town of ages” because its history goes back thousands of years. It was founded as a settlement in the year 169 during the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In 629, theByzantine Emperor renamed the town to Nicopolis, meaning..
There are rumours and speculations that some forgeries, so good that they are not inferior to the originals, could be found among the exhibits in the museums, but at the moment a whole series of forgeries can be seen at an exhibition..
A unique statue from the Roman period of Odessos, preliminarily dated to the late 2nd to the first half of the 3rd century, has been discovered during excavation works near the train station in Varna, said archaeologists from the Varna Regional..
On November 24, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors St. Catherine (Sveta Ekaterina in Bulgarian) , who was one of the most educated women of her time...
On November 25, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honours the memory of St. Clement of Ohrid – a distinguished archbishop, teacher and scholar. He was among..
Mostly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy