Archaeology of the Landscape

In the area of today’s Sremska Mitrovica, exists one of the most valuable archaeological sites on the territory of our country, in which the traces of the ancient city of Sirmium (one of the capital cities of the Roman Empire) are overlapped with all the later layers of life in this area from the Middle Ages to modern times. These layers testify to the continuity of this settlement, but also to its transformation. Nonetheless such a rich history is not presented adequately to its importance and attractiveness. While working with students, we raised the question how to restore the focus on the rich cultural heritage that it deserves both in society and in our personal perspectives? How can we get to know the historical continuity of the space belonging to us enough to be able to appreciate ourselves and our own cultural identity today, as well as the heterogeneity of that heritage and the changes it has undergone in constant reflections with the other and the different?Na prostoru današnje Sremske Mitrovice nalazi se jedno od najvrednijih arheoloških nalazišta na teritoriji naše države, u kojem su tragovi antičkog grada Sirmijuma (jednog od prestolnih gradova Rimske imperije) preklopljeni sa svim potonjim slojevima života na ovom području od srednjeg veka do savremenog doba. Ova slojevitost svedoči o kontinuitetu života ali i njegovoj transformaciji, ali ovako bogata faktografija nema prezentaciju koja je adekvatna njenom značaju i atraktivnosti. U radu sa studentima postavili smo pitanje kako vratiti fokus na bogato kulturno nasleđe koji ono zaslužuje i u društvu i u našim ličnim perspektivama? Kako da upoznamo dovoljno istorijski kontinuitet pripadajućeg nam prostora da bismo umeli da cenimo sebe i sopstveni kulturni identitet danas, koliko i heterogenost tog nasleđa i promene koje je ono preživelo u stalnim odnosima prema drugome i drugačijem