Late Antiquity, 401
Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis
Early Christian temple, located in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Story of the place
How to read this place
The Great (Bishop's) Basilica was the cathedral of early-Christian Philippopolis — the largest late-antique church found in Bulgaria, its floor carpeted with nearly two thousand square metres of mosaic birds.
- Built
- mid-4th c. AD
- Size
- 86 × 39 m
- Mosaics
- ≈ 2,000 m²
First church of the Christian city
The basilica was built in the mid-4th century AD, soon after Christianity was legalised in 313; a coin of Emperor Licinius (308–324) found in the excavations suggests it was among the first churches in the empire. It was the episcopal cathedral beside the forum and was destroyed after an earthquake in the late 6th century, after about 250 years of use.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Great Basilica, Plovdiv ↗A basilica of marble
The building was 86.4 m long and 38.5 m wide — exceptional dimensions for its time. The central nave was separated from the two aisles by colonnades; an apse closed it on the east, followed by a narthex and a colonnaded atrium to the west.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Great Basilica, Plovdiv ↗The mosaic of birds
The floor mosaics cover about 2,000 m² in two superimposed layers, displayed on different levels. Among the geometric motifs, “eternal knots” and vases appear 20 bird species — seven of them exotic (swamphens, Egyptian geese, Alexandrine parakeets, African green pigeons), hinting at Rome's contacts beyond the Sahara.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Great Basilica, Plovdiv ↗A modern museum
Excavation began in the mid-1980s and was completed in 2015–2019 with over 450 volunteers. In 2021 the site opened as a modern museum with augmented and virtual reality, built by Plovdiv Municipality and the America for Bulgaria Foundation for more than BGN 15 million.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Great Basilica, Plovdiv ↗Dating
401
Source trail: Wikipedia — Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis ↗Architect/builder
not identified in the current public source
Source trail: Wikipedia — Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis ↗Current status
Publicly documented archaeological or ancient site within Plovdiv’s urban fabric.
Open map ↗Public Wikidata record
Early Christian temple, located in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
- Type
- church building and museum
- Inception
- 401
Traces and evidence
-
Description and historical context for Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis ↗ -
Coordinates for Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis.
Source trail: Coordinates (Wikidata) · Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis ↗ -
Media and license for Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis: Bazilika golyama2.jpg.
Source trail: Wikimedia Commons — Bazilika golyama2.jpg ↗
Current status
Publicly documented archaeological or ancient site within Plovdiv’s urban fabric.
Ownership, care and institutions
The public record used here does not identify a traceable ownership or management history. This page therefore shows only verified institutional and source links.
Connected people
No people are linked in the current knowledge base.
Visit and orientation
- Coordinates
- 42.14412, 24.75273 · wikidata_coordinate
- Built/date
- 401
- Architect/builder
- not identified in the current public source
Full event stream
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No separate events are present for this place in the current knowledge base; use the public record, sources and description.
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No separate archive or then/now record is available for this place yet. The main image, coordinates and sources remain published.