International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Ljubinka Džidrova
N. U. Archaeological Museum of Macedonia, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; 
[e-mail] 
The Early Christian Floor Mosaics from Heraclea Lyncestis 
and the spheres of Influence – East and West – in the Republic of Macedonia 
and the Central (West) Balkans
Heraclea Lyncestis as one of the most vital archaeological sites developed on the remains of a 
Classical and Hellenistic settlement until present day. Situated on the route of the 
Via egnatia
, in late 
antiquity it grew into an authentic pilgrimage centre, of vast scope respective to the level of excavations. 
Focal point make the earliest remains denominating early Christian belief and practice in the 
town. As means of research are taken primarily the earliest remains of floor mosaic originating from 
the 
Villa suburbana
uncovered to the east of the Late Roman city walls, later incorporated within 
the suburban walls expanded around the turn of the sixth century. The late phases of the villa’s 
pavements show relationship to the late third century mosaic floors with several figural symbols 
pointing to the practice of Christian worship. Only the next phase brings evidence of introduction 
of Christianity into the town premises.
Recent observations of a largely neglected group of geometric floor mosaics in contrast to 
the apparently far more attractive figural mosaics provided new supporting evidence on the 
introduction of Christianity into the urban premises of Heraclea following its acceptance as a state 

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religion, and the consecutive adoption into the urbanized Roman city centre. The geometric mosaic 
fields describe a long sequence interweaving the former buildings of the Roman urban centre 
with those of the early Byzantine Christian town, starting from the earliest east field of the Small 
Basilica late narthex dated in the first two decades of the fourth century, originally belonging to the 
reconstructed exedra atrium at the head of the Roman double portico. It is followed by the Large 
Basilica’s central nave mosaic floor, those from the Large Basilica baptistery and the 
auditorium
/
catehumeneum
, and the west field of the previously mentioned Small Basilica narthex, closing 
the sequence of initial formation of the 
Basilique double
of the Episcopal seat after the mid fifth 
century. Its further development and transformation in the early sixth century co-terminated with 
the appearance of the figural mosaics around the site, but also the 
prothesis
mosaic and the early 
medieval North Chapel vestibule mosaic floor at both ends of the Large Basilica exhonarthex.
The review of these mosaics on the basis of their schematic concepts, and repeated application 
of an integrated line of motifs at Thessalonika and Rome in the fourth-early fifth century, determined 
by their sacral character, reveal a common trend and an ideological meaning of their concept dated 
at this early period.