Heraclea Lyncestis
Hellenistic and Roman city south of Bitola, with a theatre and early Christian basilica mosaics.
Heraclea Lyncestis lies about two kilometres south of Bitola, at the foot of Mount Baba. It was founded in the fourth century BC by Philip II of Macedon in the district of Lynkestis and later became a station on the Roman Via Egnatia, the road that ran from the Adriatic to Byzantium. Trade along that route kept the city prosperous into late antiquity, when it was the seat of a bishop, before raids and an earthquake led to its abandonment in the sixth century.
Excavation began in the 1930s and continues today. Visitors can walk through a Roman theatre cut into the hillside, a portico, Roman baths and a bishop's residence, as well as two early Christian basilicas and a baptistery. The floors of the Great Basilica and the narthex carry fifth- and sixth-century mosaics of birds, animals and trees set around a fountain of life; they are among the best preserved in the Balkans, and are sheltered but sometimes covered for conservation in winter.
Highlights
- Roman theatre cut into the hillside below Mount Baba
- Fifth and sixth-century floor mosaics in the Great Basilica
- Founded by Philip II and later a station on the Via Egnatia
- Baptistery, baths and bishop's residence of the late antique city
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