The 2020 program of the National Institution Stobi includes multiple projects, five of them directly concern the research and protection of movable and immovable cultural heritage, while the other activities envisage the preparation of projects and infrastructural interventions. A total of 15 projects was funded by the Ministry of Culture, as part of the Annual Program for Public Interest in Culture for 2020. Four of the projects have been postponed due to the crisis situation caused by the corona virus (Covid 19).
This year’s season of the project for conservation, restoration, reconstruction and archeological research of the Roman theatre at Stobi took place between June and November. The work was focused on three points: conservation of the marble elements of the scene building, conservation and restoration of the supporting walls under the seats from the upper segment of the auditorium (summa cavea) and archaeological excavations of the west parodos.
The conservation process of the marble elements of the scene building included in situ cleaning and consolidation of the podium blocks and stairways of the scaenae frons. Namely, this part of the scene building had never been the subject of conservation and it was in a critical condition. The stone conservator of NI Stobi, Mariana Filova, successfully returned the original glow of the marble blocks and prevented the further deterioration. The conservation of the scene building will continue next season and the completion will open the opportunity for anastylosis i.e. re-assembly of the columns and the rest of the architectural elements which comprised the most elaborate decorative part of the theatre.
The massive walls of the substructure under the seats from the upper segment of the auditorium are exposed up to 6 metres in some locations, suggesting high level of preservation of the building. However, the upper zones of the walls, to the height of around 2 metres, are continuously disintegrating. In 2020, the NI Stobi began the conservation of the walls in the eastern half with the restoration treatment of eight radial walls out of the sixteen exposed. The conservation project in this segment of the theatre was led by Professor Trajche Nacev.
The archaeological excavations of the west parodos i.e. the west open corridor between the auditorium and the scene building were focused on complete exposure of the area which was the subject of excavations in the 1990s. The team of archaeologists discovered ruins from the walls of the theatre which collapsed as the result of the earthquake from around 300 CE. After the earthquake, the theatre was repaired, the destruction in the west parodos was covered and a new floor level was established on top. The floor had series of holes for wooden posts with unclear purpose. The explanation is more complicated as the area was divided in length by the construction of a wall in the last functional years of the theatre.
October marked the finish of the archaeological excavations which were part of the project: „Making a project for conservational and restoration activities on the south defensive wall and south gate in Stobi“. The archaeological excavations took place from June to October 2020, implemented by m-r Jovan Radnjanski and a team of professionals from NI Stobi, graduated archaeologist and students from Students archaeological society „Axios“. Research at the south defensive wall and the southern gate shed some new light on a space of the ancient city that was not archaeologically tested for 10 years. With this year’s excavations southern gate is almost completely uncovered and thus represents only the second so far excavated city entrance. According to archaeological data, the south gate was in use from the 1th to the mid 6th century AD, after which was sealed with newly built south defensive wall. The „Making of a project for conservational and restoration activities on the south defensive wall and south gate in Stobi“ is fully financed by the annual program for financing projects of national interest for the culture, implemented by the Ministry of Culture of North Macedonia.
During the past few months, the conservation team, led by Tome Filov - mosaic conservator, has been worked on conservation activities within the project "Conservation and restoration of displaced mosaics from the archаeological site Stobi". It was included mosaic segments of 5 different buildings from the site that were removed from the original location on several occasions in the period from 1970 to 2016. The mosaic segments that were in poor condition were processed from the back, placed on a new aluminum honeycomb holder and then stored in a room with adequate storage conditions for this type of cultural heritage. Some of the segments were returned to their original location (Presbytery of the old episcopal basilica) and thus became available again for the visitors to Stobi.
The archaeological excavation and conservation of the architectural remains of the shops and workshops behind the Semicircular Court was undertaken during August and September 2020. During the excavations two rooms were excavated in order to prepare the building for the following conservation project. During the excavation significant numismatic material was uncovered, belonging to the end of the 6th century AD, confirming the previously affirmed chronology of the building. After the conclusion of the excavations, the conservation part of the project commenced, treating the remaining walls that had not received adequate treatment in the previous campaign in 2018. Silvana Blazevska was the head of the archaeological excavation, while Trajce Nacev was the head of the conservation project. The project is fully financed by the annual program for financing projects of national interest for culture, implemented by the Ministry of Culture of North Macedonia.
In the period between the 15th September and 15th October, the archaeological excavations of the Western necropolis in Stobi were also undertaken, headed by Silvana Blazevska. In the aforementioned period, the team from NI Stobi excavated 15 burials that belong to the first half of the 1st century AD. The types of graves are typical for the later Augustan period, in the shape of dug-in, ritually fired pits, in which the cremated deceased were buried along with their grave offerings for the afterlife. The project is fully financed by the annual program for financing projects of national interest for culture, implemented by the Ministry of Culture of North Macedonia.