Burnum

Burnum

The arches at Burnum, Croatia
Shown within Croatia
Location	Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia
Region	Dalmatia
Coordinates	44°1′5.16″N 16°1′32.88″E / 44.0181000°N 16.0258000°E / 44.0181000; 16.0258000Coordinates: 44°1′5.16″N 16°1′32.88″E / 44.0181000°N 16.0258000°E / 44.0181000; 16.0258000
Type	Settlement
Site notes
Condition	In ruins

Burnum (/ˈbɜːrnəm/; or Burnum Municipium), an archaeological site, was a Roman Legion camp and town. It is located 2.5 km north of Kistanje, in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. The remains include a praetorium, the foundations of several rooms, the amphitheatre and the aqueduct.

Burnum is also popularly called Hollow Church (Šuplja Crkva) and is one of many ruins in the Balkans identified in folklore as Traianus' Town (Trojanov Grad). Only two of the original five arches have been preserved (at the end of the 18th century Alberto Fortis mentioned three of them).

The Roman writer Plinius wrote about Burnum as "fortress distinguished in wars." - "In hoc tractu sunt Burnum, Andetrium, Tribulium nobilitata proeliis castella." The Pagana chart from the 16th century presented marked traits of Burnum as the ancient locality, but it did not reach archeological interest until the 19th century, when it occupied the attention of renowned Croatian archaeologists, father Lujo Marun and father Frane Bulić. The first excavations were conducted by Austrian archaeologists.

It is assumed that Burnum originates from the year 33 BC, but it is more likely that it was established a few decades later. Several Roman legions were located there in succession, and the first one was legio XX Valeria Victrix from the beginning of the Pannonian uprising (Bellum Batonianum) in AD 6-9. The reason for its location was the need for the control of traffic around the Krka River. Building was initiated by the Roman governor for Dalmatia Publius Cornelius Dolabella and continued by the Emperor Claudius.