Votive altar of Lucius Petronius Timachus

Abstract

During the systematic archaeological excavations in the fortress of Timacum Minus in Ravna near Knja'evac in 1991, a votive altar of Jupiter Paternus, dedicated by Lucius Petronius Timachus, a veteran of the legion VII Claudia, was discovered. The name (cognomen) Timachus was noted for the first time on this monument. It was developed from the ethnonime Timachi, or the hydronime Timachus, known from the historical resources of the Roman period. Timacum Maius and Timacum Minus, the fortifications and settlements in Upper Moesia, were named after the river Timachus (modern Timok), as was, probably, the whole region of the Basin of Timok. The votive altar of Jupiter Paternus was in secondary use as a construction material in the reconstruction of the horreum in the last phase of life in Timacim Minus, in the first half of 5th century A.D. The analysis of the archaeological context of the votive and funeral monuments from Ravna, used as spolia, have distinguished the three periods of their use from the last third of the 3rd century to the middle of the 5th century A.D.