Andautonia: the lost Roman town on the Sava near Zagreb
Andautonia was a Roman settlement on the southern bank of the river Sava, on the site of today's village of Šćitarjevo, south-east of Zagreb. For roughly three centuries it is believed to have been the main administrative and cultural centre of the area. Streets, walls, buildings and a necropolis have been excavated, and the remains can be visited in an archaeological park, an easy detour from the capital.
For centuries scholars argued about where the Roman town of Andautonia had stood, because villagers had carried its stones away. A German historian finally pinpointed it in 1873, beneath an ordinary Croatian village.
The history of Andautonia
Andautonia lay in the Roman province of Pannonia, on the road that linked Poetovio and Siscia, the modern towns of Ptuj and Sisak. The settlement is believed to have existed between the 1st and the 4th century AD. The name appears in the 2nd-century Geography of Ptolemy and, as Dautonia, in the Antonine Itinerary. According to the linguist Petar Šimunović, the name may be older than Rome and mean “a place by the river”, which fits a town on the banks of the Sava.
Andautonia is believed to have been a municipium, a second-tier type of Roman town reserved for important local centres. Its residents governed their own affairs but did not hold full Roman citizenship. Pottery, tools and coins found here date from the reign of Emperor Titus to that of Valens. A dedication discovered in 1768 honours Herennia Etruscilla, wife of Emperor Decius, as mater castrorum, “mother of the camps”. A relief of the goddess Nemesis, often linked with gladiator games, suggests that the town may have had an amphitheatre. The settlement is believed to have been destroyed during the Great Migration.
The ancient name resurfaced in 1758, on a stone tablet found in Stenjevec, now part of Zagreb, and again in Šćitarjevo in 1768. During the 19th century local people reused the Roman stone and brick in new buildings, and the surface traces vanished. Several cartographers and historians proposed different locations. The German scholar Theodor Mommsen settled the matter, publishing his conclusion in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum in 1873. Soon afterwards the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb began digging at Šćitarjevo and found Roman artefacts about a metre below the surface.
Larger excavations took place between 1969 and 1980, and from 1981 archaeologists also explored the yard of the parish building in the village centre. They uncovered streets, a sewer system, various buildings, city walls and a necropolis. In 1994 an archaeological park was opened to visitors in the village. Today the site is looked after by the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, which organises events such as the Days of Andautonia.
Curiosities about Andautonia
- The town was lost to memory so thoroughly that historians proposed several different locations before Mommsen identified it in 1873.
- A tablet bearing the town's name turned up in Stenjevec in 1758, many kilometres from the real site.
- An inscription found in 1768 during repairs to the village church honours the wife of Emperor Decius as “mother of the camps”.
- Ptolemy mentions the town, but perhaps inaccurately placed it between Bononia and Novidunum.
- A relief of Nemesis, goddess of fate and a patron of gladiators, hints that Andautonia may once have had an amphitheatre.
- The archaeological park opened in 1994 is described as the first of its kind in Croatia.
Tours near Andautonia
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Andautonia
- The archaeological park stands in the centre of Šćitarjevo, where the foundations of buildings and streets can be seen in the open air.
- The site is cared for by the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. Check the current opening hours before you go.
- Events such as the Days of Andautonia and the Meetings in Andautonia explore themes from Roman daily life.
- Zagreb is the natural base, with other sights such as Mirogoj Cemetery and Lotrščak Tower in the city.
- Little is known about guided visits or facilities on site, so it is worth asking the museum in advance.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Andautonia is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Photos of Andautonia
Questions
What is Andautonia and where is it?
Andautonia was a Roman town on the south bank of the Sava, in today's village of Šćitarjevo south-east of Zagreb, near Velika Gorica.
When did Andautonia exist?
The settlement is believed to have existed between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, before it was destroyed during the Great Migration.
What can you see at Andautonia?
The archaeological park shows the remains of buildings and streets, and excavations have also found city walls, a sewer system and a necropolis.
How was Andautonia rediscovered?
Inscriptions found in 1758 and 1768 gave the name, and Theodor Mommsen located the town correctly in 1873. Excavations by the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb followed.
Was Andautonia an important town?
Yes. It was probably a municipium and is believed to have been the main administrative, political and cultural centre of the area for about 300 years.
Is Andautonia worth visiting from Zagreb?
It is a short trip from the capital to one of the few places where a Roman town of the Sava valley can be seen in the open air.
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