National Museum Day: Exhibition on the Roman Empire and the minister's plans

The day of the National Museum of Serbia, when it was founded 181 years ago on May 10, was marked by the opening of the "Roman Empire on Wheels" exhibition.

Again the Memorial House of Nadezhda and Rastka

It was the occasion for the Minister of Culture, Nikola Selaković, to announce that within the framework of the National Museum "some of the most important tasks for this year will be completed - the opening of the reconstructed Memorial House of Nadežda and Rastko Petrović and the beginning of decorating the Gallery of Frescoes".

Last December, works on the reconstruction of the Nadežda and Rastko Petrović Memorial Museum were completed, and Minister Nikola Selaković announced on this occasion that it will be opened to the public in February. This April 3 marked the 110th anniversary of the death of Nadežda Petrović, it was not known when her Memorial House would be opened to the public.

Fresco Gallery and Archaeological Museum

The fresco gallery has been closed since 2007. In his first public address after assuming office, Minister Nikola Selaković mentioned the Gallery of Frescoes as a priority task.

Yesterday, on the occasion of the National Museum Day, Minister Selaković emphasized that this year the foundation project is particularly important Archaeological Museum part of the National Museum and specified that this new institution will be located in the completely reconstructed building of the former Old Post Office on Savski Square.

"The cultural heritage of the Republic of Serbia represents a significant and inseparable part of world and European culture, and the Ministry of Culture and the National Museum of Serbia are fully committed to its preservation and promotion," said Selaković at the end.

Exhibition

At the archaeological exhibition "The Roman Empire on Wheels. Roads and Crossroads to the National Museum of Serbia" by museum adviser Deana Ratković, two reconstructions of passenger carts, which are part of the Museum's heritage, and which are unique examples of this type of material culture from our area, were shown.

Photo: Ministry of Culture

The Roman carts had a practical use in everyday life, in the transport of mail, passengers and goods, the transport of the army and their logistics.

The first cisium-type two-wheeled carts were found during protective archaeological excavations during the construction of the Niš-Dimitrovgrad highway in 2013, at the Stanicenje-Mađilka site near Pirot, within the tomb-tumulus and can be seen as part of a burial ritual with carts. They date from the second half of the 1st to the first half of the 2nd century. This custom of ritual burial can be found throughout Europe and is linked to the universal understanding of death as a journey to another world.

The second cart represents a four-wheeled passenger vehicle of the raeda type and can be tentatively dated to the 2nd century. Parts of the iron structure, bronze decorative elements and horse equipment have been preserved from them. Their complete reconstruction was done in a 3D model in which original parts were incorporated, which will give visitors the impression of the appearance of Roman chariots as they once were. Although we do not have exact data on their discovery, we can also attribute these carts to the same burial ritual with the carts of a wealthier member of the high class, in the Roman hierarchy.

Photo: Ministry of Culture

As part of the story of how the Romans traveled, a stone monument - a landmark from Kuršumlija, which stood on the Roman road Niš - Lješ, at the Ad Fines road station on the border between the provinces of Moesia and Dalmatia, was also shown. This milestone testifies to the repair of roads during the time of the Roman Emperor Gordian and his campaigns against the Persians.