Archaeological Guide of Kosovo

Municipium Ulpiana
The roman and Byzantine site of Ulpiana is without a doubt one of
the most interesting archaeological centres of Kosovo and the entire Illyrian
peninsula. The setting of the site close to a rich mining area known for
extraction of the precious metals, stretched in a fertile low land and imposing
picturesque surroundings while on the other hand, the exceptionally
key geostrategic position sited close to the ancient crossroads that linked
east with west, where dominant factors for the foundation, development
and existence through centuries. During the roman era, Ulpiana was one
of the most active and frequented centers connecting Constantinople with
Rome, and close to the town the crossroad connecting the Adriatic with the
Aegean coasts, even indirectly with the Black Sea. Furthermore, the existence
of the ancient communication route Via Lissus-Naissus is known, land
communication networks that met close to Ulpiana. The earliest forms of
the occupation and human activity and civilization, witness the existence
since the prehistoric period, but worth mentioning is the period known by
the jargon of the archaeologists as the Bronze and Iron Ages, also known as
the Dardanian Ancientness. Nevertheless, the first forms of an urban centre
recorded in Ulpiana, date to the beginning of the Roman rule, which oc-
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Fig. 168. Greek altar with the inscription Apoloneus Menelaus
dedicated to the deity of Zeus. (MK)
Fig.169. Marble head of the ‘Actor’. (MK)
Fig.170. Oil lamp from the Roman Period. (KIMP)
Fig.171. the bronze casted statuette of the Deity ‘Mercury’,
discovered in Ulpiana. (MK)
Fig. 172. The site setting of the Ulpiana.
Fig. 173. The site setting and the location of the archaeological
unearthed monuments discovered in Ulpiana.
Archaeological Guide of Kosovo 69