Histria - Romania's own Pompeii

On the top of a hill overlooking the Sinoe Lake near the mouths of the Danube on the western coast of the Black Sea, the ancient city of Histria - Istria in Greek - stands proud and nostalgic but distressfully neglected. If you know your history and/or have an active imagination however, the atmosphere of Histria cannot fail to evoke visions of an ancient era. Who walked on the stones upon which you walk? Who stood in that doorway? Who sat sewing at that window? I felt myself transported to a time of leather sandals and white togas, loud forums and a symposium or two...

A friend of mine told me today, "Hister or Ister was the name of the river Danube. The Greek geographers thought that the Danube would connect the Black with the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula Istria got its name accordingly."

Histria was founded by Greek merchants in the mid VII century BC (657-6 BC according to Eusebius). During its history, Histria was connected to major events of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine world. It was one of the first Greek colonies founded in the basin of the Black Sea and the oldest colony on the West coast. At the end of the VIc, the fortress was destroyed by Avar-Slavic invasions and many inhabitants deserted the city. The town started to really decline after the middle of the VIIc AD, when urban life-style was replaced by a rural one. Those inhabitants that remained upped and left...

The area remained abandoned until it was rediscovered in 1868. It is a hugely valuable asset to Romanian national heritage but like most historic monuments, it is left unkempt and unloved - roads and malls are far more important than cultural heritage these days, after all.

As you enter the complex, you will find the Histria museum, founded in 1982 under the authority of the Museum of National History and Archaeology in Constanta. There, one can muse over the displays of Greek, Roman and Byzantine archaeology discovered by excavations of Histria and its surroundings: amphorae, inscriptions, pottery, glassware, ornaments and Hellenistic bas-reliefs. Yet this 'new building' is absent of air conditioning (a glass roof in 38° is hardly condusive for attracting tourists), has plaster falling off the walls and is really rather uninspiring - at least, so it felt to me. The need for the welcome breeze and the shade of the trees outside attracted me far more.

As you approach the site, you are overwhelmed by the sheer expanse, the space of it all. Simply beautiful. I'm not sure what I had expected to find, although I was sure there would be a good handful of people on guided tours. But there was no one but us. The only other living thing nearby was a stork in her nest looking expectantly into the distance, perhaps waiting for Mr Stork to return with a fish from the lake for lunch.

The information plaque by the first entrance to the town reads as follows:

"HISTRIA - the oldest town on the territory of present-day Romania - was founded by Greek colonists from Miletus around the middle of the 7th century BC and abandoned by its latest inhabitants in the second half of the 7th century AD. In the course of more than 1,300 years of uninterrupted living, five successive precinct walls defended the city, according to the great historical periods that were crossed (Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Early Roman and Late Roman periods). Inside the respective precincts, remarkable monuments were uncovered , beginning with Greek temples and altars and continuing with Roman baths, civil basilicas, rich individual houses and Christian churches as well as a bishopric cathedral. The richness and variety of discovered monuments  and archaeological finds exhibited in the local museum made Histria a genuine Romanian Pompeii. The archaeological excavations started by the great Romanian historian Vasile Pârvan in 1914 do not cease to reveal new evidence of the brilliant Greek-Roman civilisation, the matrix of present day European civilisation."

Beautifully expressed. Sadly, this is the one and only information plaque with anything informative visible on it. The others were blank or unreadable no good to man nor beast. How can people possibly know what they are looking at unless they photograph the information mentioned above (with a numbered map) or have the memory of an elephant?

Thigh-high undergrowth (and I'm tall!) strangled the pathways and covered the flagstones. The steps which lead up and down were clearly original and difficult to navigate - certainly not negotiable for anyone without an excellent sense of balance. An electrical box had been nailed to an ancient part of what must have been a church pillar.

Proof that an effort had been made once upon a time was there by way of a few spotlights in the ground, but whether they still work or are used at night these days is anyone's guess.

This incredible vestige of antiquity just 50 km north of  Constanța would be lauded in any other country. It would be a culture centre, a hub of national pride, of education. According to the guard on duty the day we visited however, there is but one yearly festival and a handful of archaeological students who come to dig until the money runs out after a few days. Tourists? Very few. How can it be possible? HOW? Meanwhile the centre of Constanta looks like Beirut. The roads are all dug up (replacing old pipes, perhaps?), there are new malls, new concrete eyesores (hotels, of course) and yet no money for Histria.

I left feeling terribly sad and of course, terribly angry. This country, full of such beauty and incredible history is run by those who do not know (or care) how to love it, nourish it, share and optimise it. Culture, patrimony? Nah. Don't be absurd! Malls are far more lucrative than a pile of stones dating from VIIc BC.

 Photos: Sarah In Romania

Comments

[pozedecat]

Iar nu pot posta din blogspot ...

Spuneam ca Histria este unul dintre cele patru monumente ale Romaniei in lista European Heritage alaturi de Ansamblul Monumental al lui Brancusi de la Tg. Jiu si Atheneul sau Palatul Cantacuzino din Bucuresti

[Dan Ghelase]

Nordul Dobrogei este minunat turistic si populat de oameni harnici...

Deocamdata este o destinatie...pour les conaisseurs...

[Dan Ghelase]

Nordul Dobrogei este minunat turistic si populat de oameni harnici...

Deocamdata este o destinatie...pour les conaisseurs...