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Ristov, K., Angelovski, B., Manaskova, M. “Justiniana Prima, the last enigma of Balkan archaeology”. Živa Antika / Antiquité Vivante 75.1-2 (2025), pp. 227–256.

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Abstract. – The location of Justiniana Prima remains one of the most persistent problems in Balkan archaeology, sustaining scholarly interest since the first early modern translations of Procopius’ De Aedificiis in the sixteenth century. Two principal models dominate. The first situates Justinian’s foundation at the site of Caričin Grad near Lebane, close to Leskovac, a position underpinned by more than a century of investigation, especially of early Christian basilicas. The second, first articulated by Arthur Evans, places the city in the Skopje region, within the historical core defined by the Old Bazaar and Kale Fortress. This latter view draws on a multidisciplinary dossier: historical analysis; toponymic readings of the nearby villages of Badar and Taor – associated in the sources with Justin I and his nephew Justinian I; and roughly two decades of archaeological research at the fortress of Taor. Further contextual support derives from the Skopje aqueduct, described already by Evans and reexamined in recent rescue excavations in and around the Old Bazaar. On present evidence, any attempt to fix the site of Justiniana Prima must rest on a comprehensive appraisal of the full body of arguments and data. Selective reading skews the outcome. Ultimately, only an unequivocal epigraphic inscription can furnish secure identification of one candidate as the city founded by Justinian.
Key words. – Justiniana Prima, Procopius, Tauresium, Bederiana, Caričin Grad, location