Mosaic Inscription Connects Justinian to Ancient City in Kosovo

News August 8, 2025

Detail of mosaic inscription, Ulpiana Archaeological Park, Kosovo
Republic of Kosovo Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport
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ULPIANA, KOSOVO—Vox News Albania reports that Kosovan Minister of Culture Hajrulla Çeku announced that a team of archaeologists uncovered a rare mosaic inscription linked with the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (reigned a.d. 527–565) at the site of Ulpiana. This find comes two years after the discovery of another inscription from the same time period. Ulpiana was a major urban center in the Roman province of Dardania and flourished from the first to the sixth century a.d. The city was flattened by an earthquake around a.d. 518 but was rebuilt by Justinian, a native of the area, during his reign. The first inscription records Ulpiana’s refounding as the city of “Justiniana Secunda,” while the second, newly uncovered mosaic bears a dedication to the Byzantine emperor and his wife Theodora upon the construction of a new church. Officials said that the discovery not only confirms Justinian’s commitment to rebuilding both the civic and religious monuments of the city, but highlights his close historical connections to the site and the region. For more on Justinian's building projects, go to "Shipping Stone."

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