ABSTRACT
Civitas Iovia-Botivo (Ludbreg, Croatia), an early Roman Imperial settlement, was founded in the fi rst century ad along the left bank of the Bednja River. Iovia was situated on an important route that ran along the Drava River, connecting Pannonia’s major provincial centres, for example, Poetovio (Ptuj) and Mursa (Osijek). A connection with the southern regions of the province was made possible by a route passing through nearby Aquae Iasae (Varaždinske Toplice) which continued down to Siscia (Sisak). After several centuries of prosperity, Iovia was most likely devastated during
the invasion of the Goths in the late fourth century ad. The tradition of urban life was not abandoned; instead, this Pannonian town has existed in continuity up until today (Mayer, 1935: 69-82; Mócsy, 1974: 222, 225, 309; Deluka et al., 2003: 733-42; Gračanin, 2010: 20) (Figure 1).
