Singidunum

Singidunum
Belgrade Serbia
Probing of the medieval walls of the Belgrade Fortress, where the walls of the Roman castrum Singidunum were discovered.
Singidunum
Coordinates	44°49′N 20°28′E / 44.82°N 20.46°E / 44.82; 20.46
Type	Fortification, mixed
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	1st century
Materials	Stone

Singidunum (Serbian: Сингидунум, Singidunum) was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celtic origin, going back to the time when the Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans. Later on, the Roman Republic conquered the area in 75 BC and incorporated it into the province of Moesia. It was an important fort of the Danubian Limes and Roman Legio IV Flavia Felix was garrisoned there since 86 AD. Singidunum was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Jovian. It was sacked by Huns in 441, and by Avars and Slavs in 584. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Singidunum fort was finally destroyed.^[1]

A large part of Belgrade's downtown belongs to the "Archaeological Site of Singidunum", which was declared a protected zone on 30 June 1964.^[2]