Antički tragovi putovanja na prostoru današnje Bosne i Hercegovine / Ancient traces of traveling in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Busuladžić Adnan 
Published: November 2021

Traveling for trade

The territory of the inland of the Roman province of Dalmatia or the territory of  present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina holds clear evidence that people had travelled for the purpose of healthcare, religion, trade, and relaxation. We can assume that the majority of the travels was for the purpose of business, but such type of travellingis more difficult to corroborate with material evidence. Exception is trade activities that have been unquestionably proven on the basis of discovered objects such  as amphoras, jewellery, terra sigillata, lamps, and other objects. We can trace trade  activities through uncovered fragments of Mycenaean pottery all the way from prehistoric period (Table 8).

Travelling for healthcare

 The facts that point out to medical “tourism” primarily refer to numerous spas  and hot baths, and the existence of hospices and thermae in the territory of presentday Bosnia and Herzegovina (Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5). A part these refer to simple hot baths, mineral springs, earth springs, alkaline mineral water, salty and muriatic mineral springs, sulphate mineral springs, iron and sulphur springs and others. Some of the prominent springs in Bosnia and Herzegovina are sites near Podgradina near  Mrkonjić Grad, Gornja Vogošća, ancient Domavia or present – day Srebrenica,  Crni Guber, Crvena Rijeka, sulfuric acid spring in Srebrenica, Mala and Velika  Kiselica, Ilidža near Sarajevo, Gornji Šeher and Slatina – Ilidža, Kiseljaci near Banja  Luka, Gata near Bihać, Vrućica near Teslić, Slanac potok and Kulaši near Tešanj,  Gradačac, Olovo, Kiseljak and Fojnica, Banja near Višegrad, Žepče, Ljeskovica and  Orahovica, Rječica near Maglaj, Sočkovac near Gračanica, Bokavića – Šervar, Slanica and Dragunja near Tuzla, Dubnica and Jasenica near Zvornik, Rasol near Teočak,  Jelovac near Prijedor and many others.

Travelling for religious purposes

Religious travels and pilgrimages can be assumed with much certainty on the ba- sis of temples where religious ceremonies had been conducted. Such buildings must have assumed the arrival of believers from remote areas. In our case, we can single out the temple of Mithras in Jajce, the temple of Liber in Herzegovina, the temples of Minerva and Jupiter and many others (Tables 6 and 7).

Prostitution as a possible cause of travelling

An interesting object that paints intimate life is a spintria discovered at the site of  Mogorjelo. This object probably served as a token for public houses and confirms the travels of population to bigger urban areas where such facilities existed. The object that was brought back represented a memory of a travel and the experience (Table 9).

The existence of road stations as an evidence of travelling

Road stations with multiple purposes are another evidence of travelling activities.  Such facilities near roads helped travellers to get some rest, as well as offered a place of residence for smaller military units that took care of the road security and prevent robberies on the road. We assume that road stations of different categories existed in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. These are mansiones, mutations and beneficiarial military – traffic stations. Some of the known road stations  were located near the left bank of the Trebišnjica, in the plain below Crkvina, at the  site of Ukšići in Ljubomir in Herzegovina. Traces of buildings suggest the existence  of a road station Ad Zizio at the site of Lištana or southern part of the Livno municipality, at several assumed sites in the Mrkonjić Grad municipality, near Skelani  and Domavia, near village Halapić in Glamoč municipality, in Sarajevo, Runovići,  Bigesta and many other locations.

Mode of transportation

Travelling assumed two basic modes of transportation. The first and very common  mode of transportation was by foot, and the second one was organized by means of animals such as horses, mules and alike. The presence of such mode of transportation was recorded though horseshoes that could have been used (Table 1).