AN AUCISSA DERIVATIVE FIBULA IN THE MIDDLE ROMAN PERIOD CEMETERIES IN ALBANIA: MILITARIA OR CIVILIAN TRENDS?

Abstract

This paper will take in consideration, a certain type of fibula a derivative of Aucissa. The Aucissa fibulae were very much in fashion during the I century BC-I century AD, but its variants continued to be in use in the forthcoming centuries, such as the typology in question, which represents the development of the Aucissa type in the II-III centuries AD. This type has a limited number and distribution in Albania, presenting very close affiliation with counterparts in the Balkans, found mostly in military contexts. Most likely it represents an eastern Roman production, which attests regional patterns in the II-III centuries AD. This typology can be correlated to the military sphere, as can be noticed from the associated material in the funerary contexts, demonstrating though for the militarization of the population or the presence of the roman units in the territory of Southern Illyria.