Mihajlo N. Džamtovski
Mihajlo N. Džamtovski
I was born in 1996 in Pančevo, FR Yugoslavia (now the Republic of Serbia). I went to the Grammar School ’Uroš Predić’ in my hometown, and after that, in 2015, I started my BA studies in archaeology at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, which I completed in January 2020 with a GPA of 9.14/10.00. After that, I enrolled in the MA studies in archaeology at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana, which I completed in September 2023 with a GPA of 8.94/10.00. The title of my thesis is Economic Activities in Ancient Sirmium and Its Vicinity, which was graded with 10. In the meantime, I published two papers, and in November 2024, I began my PhD studies in archaeology at the Department of Archaeology at the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna. I also have several more papers forthcoming. I am a member of the Serbian Archaeological Society, Matica srpska, and The Görres Society.
Research interests: Ancient Balkans, Ancient Topography, Early Byzantine Archaeology, Early Christian Archaeology, History and Reception of Archaeology, Late Antique Archaeology, Roman Archaeology, and Roman Cult and Iconography
Current research project: The working title of my PhD proposal is Christian Topography of the Late Antique Province of Dacia Mediterranea: Christianity in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas from the 4th to the Early 7th Centuries. My supervisor will be Univ.-Prof. Basema Hamarneh, PhD, one of the most renowned scholars on the subject of Christian topography. The second supervisor will be Assoc. Prof. Ivo Topalilov, PhD, from the Balkan Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, a leading expert on the Late Antique eastern Balkans. The Late Antique province of Dacia Mediterranea, located in parts of present-day Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Serbia, lay along an important road connecting Singidunum (Belgrade, Serbia) to Constantinople. As a crucial route linking the western and eastern provinces of the empire, the province was home to several significant Late Antique cities, including Naissus (Niš, Serbia) and Serdica (Sofia, Bulgaria). Additionally, Emperor Justinian the Great (527–565) was born in this region, near the present-day town of Lebane, Serbia, and commissioned the construction of Iustiniana Prima, an important site and the seat of an archbishopric, located at Caričin Grad – Prekopčelica, Serbia.
The numerous churches in major urban centers, fortified settlements in mountainous areas, and suburban and rural contexts throughout the province provide valuable material for observing and analyzing the manifestations of Christianity in Dacia Mediterranea. Given the province’s strategic position and rich architectural and archaeological remains, it presents a compelling case study for the study of Christian topography in the Late Antique Balkans.
Publications:
- (2022), Late Antique cylindrical hats as markers of authority and prestige. – Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 20, 87–101.
- (2023) An inscription from Banoštor dedicated to Somnus. – Journal of the Serbian Archaeological Society 39, 97–111.
- (2025) The first recorded monument dedicated to Terra Mater in Sirmium with a unique pro salute vicorum phrase. – Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 58-1 (accepted, forthcoming).