The site

Municipium Ulpiana – Justiniana Secunda, located about twelve kilometres to the southeast of Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Kosovo. During the Roman period, Ulpiana was one of the main communication crossroads between Constantinople and Rome, linking the routes from the Adriatic to the Aegean Coast of which the most prominent were the Via Lissus – Naissus and Scupi. In the year 169 A.D. Ulpiana acquired the status of a Municipium, which was the Latin term for a town or city. The acquisition of this status effectively meant the incorporation of the site as a recognised urban centre within the administrative apparatus of the Roman Empire. Ulpiana reached its greatest development in the period between the 3rd and 4th century A.D., becoming a strong political, economic and cultural center. In the period of Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, Ulpiana was renamed to Justiniana Secunda.

The first archaeological discoveries in the site of Ulpiana began in the second half of the 20th century and have been continued guided by local and foreign archaeologists up to the present day. The explorations have resulted in the discovery of several cult objects and sacral monuments, parts of the surrounding walls and defensive towers, the Castrum – the Roman military camp –, and hundreds of fragments of various artefacts. The archaeological excavations have also revealed other parts of the former city such as the North Gate, the Portico Temple, Fortezza Basilica including its rich mosaic floor, the Baptistery, and the Northern Necropolis.

Based on its historical, archaeological, artistic and scientific values, Municipium Ulpiana – Justiniana Secunda was proclaimed an archaeological site under permanent protection by the Kosovo Council for Cultural Heritage in 2016.

The Training Course

The Training Course in 2021 was the continuation of a similar Training Course on mosaic conservation which took place in 2020 in the Archaeological Site of Dresnik / Kosovo and was dedicated to the preventive conservation and the restoration of mosaics from the Imperial and the late-Imperial Roman period.

The conservation and restoration measures focused to the mosaics conserved in situ in Municipium Ulpiana – Justiniana Secunda. These mosaics, with geometrical and polychromatic ornaments, have been discovered in the Roman bath complex, in a part of the portico of the ancient temple, and on the floor of the crypt of the Basilica.

Under the guidance of a conservator-restorer specialised on mosaics the participants got an insight in the challenges of mosaic conservation, learned all necessary steps of the needed interventions and had the extraordinary opportunity to understand the conservation concept of mosaics conserved in situ at an archeological site. 

Additionally, the Training Course was complemented by a comprehensive educational programme that allowed the participants to familiarise themselves with the rich tangible and intangible heritage of Kosovo. 

The Training Course was jointly organised by European Heritage Volunteers, the Kosovo Council for Cultural European Heritage, the Ministry of Culture and the Institute of Archaeology of Kosovo.