Rimski ostaci u tržnom centru 'Rajićeva' - nova turistička atrakcija Beograda ili primer devastacije arheološkog nasleđa?

Abstract

After a decade of waiting, in autumn of 2017, Belgrade got a new shopping centre in Rajićeva Street, constructed on the site of the former trolley-bus turnaround. Given its specific location, preliminary archeological excavations had been conducted up to the construction revealing significant remains of Roman Singidunum: a fragment of a ditch around fortification of Legio IV Flavia Felix, traces of an ancient street as well as the stone substructures of the paved square in front of the castrum. Probably motivated by examples of good practice in conserving archeological heritage in situ, i.e. its integration into modern edifices of urban nuclei all over Europe, the authorities exhibited the excavated artifacts in the glass basins of the shopping mall's entrance in Knez Mihailova Street. However, soon after the opening, the display was affected by condensation formed on the window panes, which later had to be removed. To our knowledge, this is not in situ exhibition since only partial reconstruction of the aforementioned ancient street is presented, whereas the exhibited fragments of architecture decoration originate from other archeological sites of Roman Singidunum. The overall impression is marred by the absence of a sign or notice board as well as the missed opportunity to apply new technologies (interactive panels, holograms etc.) in reconstructing ancient atmosphere which might have contributed significantly to the display's attractiveness. Instead, it rather testifies to the utter devastation of one archeological site, whereas the poor presentation has significantly reduced its potential to become an archeological tourist hot spot of Belgrade, i.e. the itinerary entitled ''Walk through Ancient Singidunum''.