Augustae was built as a fortified military camp in the mid-1st century, as the first fortification was made of wood and earth. The castle was naturally protected to the south by the Ogosta River, to the east and north by marshland. Access was pos­sible only from the western side, where a fortified wall reinforced with a ditch was erected. In the 2nd-4th century Augus­tae developed as a Roman and an early Byzantine urban centre. Its total area reaches about 9 hа.

The fortress had the shape of an irregu­lar pentagon extending from north to south. The fortress wall was dug inside up to 2.30 m and its thickness reached 2.50 m. Its walls were made of roughly worked stones, bonded with white mor­tar. The fortress had three gates - one to the west, north and east. The defence system consisted of protruding towers. The necropolis was located west of the fortress. Archaeologists have uncovered the fortification system of the Early Roman camp and the settlement dating to the Late Antiquity. The western wall with three rectangular towers and the west­ern gate of the stone fortification have been explored. The site of the severely destroyed northern gate has also been established. Buildings have been uncov­ered in the inner part of the site, located in the approximate centre of the early Roman camp. In the 3rd–4th century the city was restored periodically after the invasions of the Goths. The last destruc­tive invasion by the Avars in the 6th century marked the end of its existence.

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