Caričin Grad

Caričin Grad is generally identified as Justiniana Prima, the city Justinian founded near his birthplace in the 530s and made an archbishopric, laid out complete with acropolis, cathedral, streets on a planned grid, baths, cisterns and an aqueduct, and then abandoned by the early seventh century when the frontier collapsed. Because it was never reoccupied, the plan survives clearly: excavation has exposed street lines, church foundations with mosaic floors, the circular plaza and the walls, and the whole layout can be read from the ground in a way that is rare. Finds including mosaics are displayed at the site and in the museum at Leskovac. The setting is quiet farmland and the site sees few visitors, so it is usually walked alone.

History

Emperor Justinian I founded the city in 535 on the site of the village of Tauresium, as the seat of a new archbishopric, and Procopius describes how he gave it an aqueduct and ever-running water. The city existed only until about 615, and in 1979 the site was listed as an archaeological site of exceptional importance (Wikipedia, Justiniana Prima).

The main sights

• The planned street grid - the sixth-century layout visible on the ground.
• Basilica foundations - several churches with mosaic floors.
• The acropolis - the fortified upper city and its walls.
• The circular plaza - the distinctive round space at the city's centre.

When to go

April to October; the site is open ground and exposed. Spring and autumn are most comfortable. Winter hours are limited and the ground gets muddy. Excavation seasons run in summer.

Good to know

Everything is at foundation level; there is no standing architecture. Interpretation on site is limited and mostly in Serbian. Mosaics are sometimes covered for protection. Access is by car, as public transport to Lebane is poor and there is nothing from the town to the site.

Nearby

Leskovac lies east; Niš is north.

Key facts