Romans in Tržič and its surroundings

Abstract

No epigraphic monuments have to date been discovered in the wider surroundings of Tržič that could help us say more about the inhabitants of the area during the Roman Period. For this reason, the author first presents the local archaeological sites related to Antiquity which not only demonstrate that the area was populated in this age, but also indirectly confirm that a Roman road used to run here, even though it is not included in the ancient maps or itineraries, since it was not a so-called via publica, i.e. a state road. Albeit not of the highest rank it was still an important road that above all served as a shortcut between Emona and Virunum. For more than a century, historians have based the existence of the road primarily on the votive monuments discovered near the Ljubelj mountain pass or, rather, along the road layout (all now on the Austrian side of the border). Another indirect proof can be found in the popular tradition, according to which Tržič existed in the Roman Period under the name Forum Lubellinum, again pointing to Ljubelj.