Gladiators revive for The Museum of Mosaics 30th anniversary in Devnya

The Museum of Mosaics in Devnya, Bulgaria will mark its 30th anniversary with a restoration of Roman gladiatorial games and military rituals in the Ancient amphitheater on 21st of May. The Cultural Institute was built under the project of architect Kamen Goranov on the ancient foundations of the building with mosaics of Marcianopolis studied since 1976.

The edifice was built between the end of III Century and the beginning of the IV century (the time of Constantine I the Great) at the place of an earlier building destroyed during the Gothic invasions in 250-251. The structure lasted until VII century after repairs and renovations.

The building plan follows the traditions of the Greco-Roman atrium peristyle house. There is a 55 meters patio area, covered with paving stones. A masonry well is placed in the middle of the yard, surrounded on three sides by a covered gallery with limestone colonnade (peristyle). The building has 21 residential, commercial and rooms with a total area of 1402 sq. m. Their walls were covered with colorful paint and murals of plaster.

Five of the rooms and porch are covered with colorful mosaics – some of the best examples of the Roman mosaic art of that period found in Bulgaria. Three of these mosaics are displayed in the museum at the premises where they were found, and the rest after conservation and partial restoration are transferred to a new carrier basis.

The mosaics are made of small cubes of marble, limestone, baked clay and colored glass in 16 colors. They represent the main characters and scenes from the Ancient Greek-Roman mythology, exotic animals, and birds, floral and geometrical motifs.

On 21 of May, the gladiators will revive surrounded by this authentic atmosphere.