Villa Armira - a legend revived torrent

A great documentary about the ancient roman Villa Armira.

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Villa Armira(Bulgarian: Вила “Армира”) is a 1st-century suburban Roman villa in southeastern Bulgaria.

Villa Armira lies some 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of Ivaylovgrad. Discovered in 1964 during reservoir construction, it was named after the Armira River, a minor tributary of the Arda. Villa Armira, a sumptuous palace villa, is one of the largest and most richly decorated Ancient Roman villas excavated in Bulgaria. It features rich marble decoration and complex floor mosaics.

The villa dates to the second half of the 1st century AD and originally belonged to a noble of Roman Thrace who is thought to have been the governor of the surrounding area. The two-storey U-shaped villa spreads over 3,600 square metres (39,000 sq ft) amidst a garden, with an impluvium in the middle.

Villa Armira had 22 separate rooms on the ground floor alone in addition to a panorama terrace. The entire ground floor was covered in elaborately decorated white marble. The villa's floor mosaics display features typical of Ancient Roman art. The mosaics in the master's chamber depict the 2nd century AD owner with his two children: these are the only Roman-era mosaic portraits to be discovered in Bulgaria. A common theme in the villa's decoration is the gorgon Medusa.