The Ancient Villa "Armira" is an archaeological monument from the Roman era in ancient Thrace. It is located 1.5 km from the Ludzha Quarter of Ivaylovgrad, Haskovo Province.
It was discovered during construction works for a dam 60 years ago. The
excavations of the residence of the owners of the villa were mainly
carried out in the period 1964 - 1980. In recent decades, the remains of
the first pool, as well as a large residential and craft complex, have
been studied. As a result of several projects, the ancient villa
"Armira" was preserved, partially restored and today ranks among the
most famous and visited archaeological sites in Bulgaria (Photo 1). The
villa is included in the "100 tourist sites of Bulgaria". Scientific
research on this large ancient estate in the region of the Eastern
Rhodopes continues. Using the most modern methods, it was established
that several marble quarries were developed on the territory of the
villa. Trading with it was one of the main factors in the development of
the cottage economy.
The villa was founded in the 70s of the 1st century AD. The first owner
of Villa "Armira" was a representative of a Thracian aristocratic
family. The villa was developed as a large landed estate in the valley
of the Armira River, from which it takes its name. It was built in a
beautiful area and near the great river Arda (ant. Artescos) in Thrace.
The marble was also used for the architectural decoration and floor
mosaics in the owners' residence. Villa "Armira" was built in the style
of the Mediterranean palaces of the rich Romans as a large peristyle
building. It has over 20 rooms on the first floor alone. They are
located around a large pool, which is surrounded by a colonnade and an
openwork fence. The pool is under the open sky and the water has been
warmed by the sun's rays. In the southern direction from it, a bath was
built, which in terms of plan and dimensions is comparable to the
ancient public baths - thermal baths. With the foundation of the villa
in the 1st century AD the home of the owner and his family was also built.
His successor from the first quarter of the II century AD completed major renovations in the central building. The creation of a unique marble decoration that shows a sense of luxury and beauty was commissioned. Later at the beginning of the III century AD subsequent generations of owners extended the building to the east. At that time, a large guest hall was built and this is Hall 6, where the mosaic is almost completely preserved.
Villa "Armira" was inhabited until the second half of the IV century AD. Around the middle of the century, some corrections were made in the decoration and plan of the building, which were subordinated to the canons of early Christianity. The villa was burned down at the end of a war between Romans and Goths in AD 378. Only a decade later, a strong earthquake occurred, which completely destroyed the buildings in the villa estate.
“This is not a museum'. Magritte might have said of here. If it were a museum We would stand for Museum of Many Artists. MoMa curates UK art and international artists. While a museum displays curated work on museum”
“This is not a museum'. Magritte might have said of here. If it were a museum We would stand for Museum of Many Artists. MoMa curates UK art and international artists. While a museum displays curated work on museum”