Kastra Rubra — on the Way between Europe and Asia
The great road, called also Via Diagonalis (the diagonal road), connected in Roman times the capital of the Western Roman Empire, Rome with the the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople.

The first data on the subject come from a Roman roads guide called Tabula Peutingeriana (Pdeutingerian map), which is know to have been compiled in the ІІ century, and these data make it possible to и establish in general through which today’s settlements and locations the road passed. In the territory of the municipality of Haskovo there exist not only traces from the road but also entire sections at several locations, namely in the territory of the village of Branitsa and in the territory of the village of Оvcharovо. About many other places it is just remembered that the people have cleared up the stones from the pavement to free land for agricultural activities.

The Romans constructed the roads following certain rules, they laid several well stamped layers of different composition consisting of ground and stones for taking water away and the surface was covered with stone plates, which made them lasting and sound, thus the roads survived until today.

Along the whole length of the road during Roman times there were road stations, some of them, called mutation, served only for replacing the horses with new ones and for rest, which others, called mansion, which were bigger, served also for accommodation for the night. Most often at such places there were strongholds, often with a military garrison, serving for protection of the station and the travellers.

It is known to us from the data that in the Harmanli area there existed two road stations— the smaller one called Pale, was located to the west of the town of Harmanli, probably between the villages Ovcharovo and Tianevo. The second one, of the mansion type, was in the location Kozlari, in the territory of the village of Izvorovо. According to the Tabula Peutingeriana (Peutingerian map) this station was called Castra Rubra (the Red Fortress). In another Roman road guide, however, the one of Emperor Antonin, the road station located here, was called Subsupara. This name reveals that here there was an ordinary Thracian settlement, near which the road station was located.

In the VI century, during the time of Justinian, which was a turbulent time in the lands of ancient Thrace, there began intense construction of new and repairs of former fortresses, one of which was the fortress near the road station. We learn this from the references of Prokopiy, who mentions the fortress of Castosobra at the same place, which is a deformed variant of Casta Rubra, which was object of research in 2007.

The fortress is located in the territory called „Kalleto”, at a distance of 7 km to the west from the village of Izvorovo and its form is of a prolonged trapezium. The fortress walls encircle an area of about 11 dcа and they are made of broken stones united with plaster mixed with broken bricks. It was established during the excavations that at each of the corners of the fortress there was a tower of a rectangular form. The fortress was entered through a powerful rectangular tower. For the construction of the latter had been used big cut stone blocs, the length of some of which extended 1.30 m. The tower had two gates, an internal and an external one. Both had been closed with two double-winged gates each, of which the axis stones have been preserved only. Well preserved are also the grooves for the locking beams behind the gates. Kit was established during the archaeological investigations that the fortress had been built at the very end of the V century, the time of Emperor Anastassiy (491 – 518) or the beginning of the VІ century, the time of Emperor Justinian the Great (527-565).

The fortress survived until the beginning of the VІІ century, when during the invasions of the Slavs and the Avars it was burnt down. This is certified by the thick layer of ashes and char-coals, as well as the discovery of the treasure of golden coins of the Byzantium emperors Tiberius Mavricius (582-602) and Irakliy (610-641). The coins of the latter are from the emission from the period 616-625, which is a proof that the fortress suffered destruction most probably during the second half of the 20 years of the VІІ century.

Soon afterwards the fortress was restored and the gaps between the stones were carefully filled up with red plaster on which a number of inscriptions in graphite were discovered.

The fortress remained in this state until the beginning of the ІХ century, when it was destroyed during the campaigns of the Bulgarian khan Krum against Byzantium, during which time many Byzantine fortresses suffered destruction. There followed a new, this time last burning down of the fortress, proven again by thick layer after the fire and coins of Nikiphorus І Genick (801-811).

A bit later after this event the place was populated by Bulgarian but the fortress was never again restored, which fact has been well proven archeologically.

It has not as yet been certified until what time this Bulgarian settlement has lasted but at about the middle of the ХІ century on the hill adjacent to the fortress there arose another medieval settlement. Here two necropolises have been found, the earlier of which most probably belonged to the Roman road station or to the early Byzantine fortress, while the later one belonged to the settlement of the ХІ-ХІІ century. In the graves from the two necropolises, on which researches were made, have been found interesting vessels made of clay, small size lamps, brass and silver ear covers, richly filigreed and granulation decorated.
 
Via Diagonalis - The Bulgarian Stonehendge Харманли



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