Geophysical Prospection along the Trans-Balkan Route of Via Diagonalis in the Western City Territory of Philippopolis: New Results and Findings

Abstract

This article publishes the results of a geophysical survey conducted along the hypothetical route of Via Diagonalis along the western urban territory of Philippopolis carried out in two consecutive seasons (2023 and 2024). The aim was to employ non-destructive methods in order to detect the existing route of the ancient road and to document the facilities related to its maintenance.
The surveyed areas are situated in the locality “Kladarmata”, ca. 4 km to the south of the village of Vinogradets, Septemvri municipality, where a milestone dedicated to Constantine I and his sons had been found, as well as in the locality “Chitachkoto”, situated 300 m to the south of the fortress at Gradishteto, associated with the Late Roman road station Bona Mansio, where a section of the ancient Roman road was visible in the past.
The results provided information about several clusters of human occupation and the geological characteristics of the terrain in antiquity, where a silted gully may be viewed as the settlement boundary from the east. To the west, as suggested by the surface finds, a number of different buildings was detected, which could be associated with Bona Mansio. Two linear anomalies recorded to the south of them, however, are likely to be old roads, one of which may be the route of Via Diagonalis.