Villa Armira

Villa Armira is a Roman country house near Ivaylovgrad, built in the first century AD and occupied for around three hundred years, and it is the best preserved private Roman residence found in Bulgaria. The reason it matters is the decoration: the floors are laid with mosaics covering nearly a thousand square metres in total, in geometric panels and figured scenes including portraits thought to represent the owner and his children, and the walls were faced with marble panels in a way that was rare outside the imperial centres. The house has a peristyle courtyard with a pool, a bath suite and a hypocaust. It is covered by a modern protective building with walkways over the floors. It sits in the far south-east, well off the usual routes.

History

The villa was built in the second half of the 1st century AD for a noble of Roman Thrace, thought to have governed the surrounding area, and it probably fell in the late 4th century, perhaps to the Goths around the Battle of Adrianople of 378; some scholars suggest it was where the wounded Emperor Valens sought refuge. It was found in 1964 during the building of a reservoir and is named after the Armira, a small tributary of the Arda (Wikipedia, Villa Armira).

Highlights

• A thousand square metres of mosaic - geometric panels and figured scenes.
• Owner portraits in the floor - the figures thought to be the family.
• Marble wall panelling - facing rare outside the imperial centres.
• The peristyle courtyard and pool - the plan of the house.

When to go

April to October; winter opening is limited. Two hours. It is a long drive from anywhere and the far south-east has few services. Weekdays are quiet.

What to expect

It is remote and the drive from Haskovo or Kardzhali is long on slow roads. Opening hours are limited and it closes on some days. Interpretation is largely in Bulgarian. Ivaylovgrad has minimal facilities.

Nearby

Ivaylovgrad is east; the Greek border runs close by.

Key facts