On the map of Roman Empire we are here

In the early 1st century AD Roman rule was finally established in the Eastern Balkans. The present-day Bulgarian lands were included in the territorial and administrative division systems and government of the vast empire. They belonged mainly to the provinces of Moesia Inferior and Thracia till the end of the 3rd century AD. After the 3rd-4th century reforms the latter were replaced by several smaller provinces included in two higher-ranking territorial and administrative units: the dioceses of Thracia and Dacia. The annexation of the present -day Bulgarian lands by the Roman Empire secured their complete economic and cultural integration into the ancient Mediterranean world. They joined new forms of economic activity, as well as new material culture standards. After the establishment of the Roman rule, however, life did not become totally uniform with that of Italy and the rest of the provinces and territories of the Empire.

The field school is situated in the areo of modern town of Vidin. Vidin is situated in North - West Bulgaria, at 199 km from Sofia, on the right bank of Dunabe river. It is linked with Kalafat town (in Romania) by a ferry. A major factor making the city a resort is the availability of mineral water. Vidin is one of the oldest towns along the Bulgarian Danube bank. It appears as the Roman fortress of Bononia on the foundations of a Thracian settlement. During the First Bulgarian Kingdom it is known as Budin (Bdin). Bishop`s centre. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom it is a strong fortress and after 1371 a capital of the Vidin Kingdom under Tsar Ivan Sratsimir. To this day the following sites have been preserved: Baba Vida fortress, built in the 9th-10th centuries on the ruins of a Roman fortress (rebuilt many times, its present appearance dating back to the 18th C.), the Turkish konak (the second half of the 18th C.), the mosque and library of Osman Nuri Pasha, the cruciform barracks of 1798, old Renaissance buildings, a synagogue Vidin is a starting point for excursions along the Danube. The second Danube bridge between Bulgaria and Romania will be constructed there.