Iža-Leányvár Castle

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Iža-Leányvár Castle
Alternative name Celamantia  ?, Kelamantia  ?
limes Pannonian Limes
section 2
Dating (occupancy) a) Wood-earth camp: 171/175 AD until before 180 AD.
b) Stone fort : Commodus until the late 4th century
Type a) Alenkastell
b) Vexillation fort
unit a) Ala I Hispanorum Aravacorum  ? or
b) Vexillation of the Legio I Adiutrix  ?
size 175 × 176 m = 3 ha
Construction a) wood-earth
b) stone
State of preservation Rectangular system with rounded corners, the
addition of fan-shaped towers and the reconstruction or walling of the north gate in late antiquity,
the partially excavated foundations of the defense were preserved and
slightly rebuilt in some places
place Iža -Leányvár
Geographical location 47 ° 44 ′ 41.2 "  N , 18 ° 11 ′ 56.1"  E
height 107  m nm
Previous Brigetio legionary camp (southwest)
Subsequently Almásfüzitő Castle (Odiavum) (southeast)
The location of the fort on the Upper Pannonian Danube Limes.
Site plan of the military and civil structures of Brigetio and Iža-Leányvár.

The Celemantia (Latin name Celamantia or Kelamantia ) was a Roman military camp on the territory of today's Slovakia , District Nitriansky, district Komarno. It served to secure an important river crossing and bridgehead on the north bank of the Danube , the latter was directly opposite the legion camp of Brigetio . In large sections, the river formed the border ( Limes Pannonicus ) between the Roman province of Pannonia Superior and the so-called Barbaricum , so that the crew of the fort also performed security and surveillance tasks in this section.

The castle is the largest known Roman military settlement in Slovakia. Its remains, which are accessible to the public, are located in the eastern part of the southern Slovak village of Iža in the immediate vicinity of the Danube bank. In the absence of modern excavations, however, many structural findings that were determined shortly after the turn of the 20th century cannot be clearly assigned to a specific time.

Surname

The name Celamantia / Kelamantia was first mentioned in the 2nd century AD by Claudius Ptolemy as part of his descriptions of the Germanic areas outside the Roman Empire, next to the Danube (II 11, 15). However, in the information provided by the ancient geographer Ptolemy there are clear indications that he incorrectly placed the area of ​​the Brigetio legionary camp at the mouth of the Raab (Arrabo) , which in reality flowed into the Danube several kilometers upstream - at the Arrabona fort ( Raab ). The scholar did not mention Arrabona at all. The error is attributed by scientific research to a necessary degree correction that Ptolemy had to make on the basis of his data. The location of Celamantia opposite the legionary camp of Brigetio stems from modern considerations in which the ancient material was reprocessed. Celamantia is not mentioned in other important ancient sources such as the Itinerarium Antonini , a directory of the Roman imperial roads from the 3rd century AD, and the Notitia Dignitatum , a late Roman state manual . The common Hungarian name Leányvár (girl's castle) is said to be based on the legend of the Roman soldier Valentinus, who allegedly kept his lover in the castle.

location

For the location of the first camp of Brigetio (established under Emperor Claudius , 41–54 AD), its proximity to the Váh , the largest tributary on the northern Pannonian border section, was decisive. The river flows into the Danube around four kilometers east of Brigetio . The surrounding terrain is level and easy to monitor with little effort. Only further east of Komorn does the land rise on the Pannonian side to the Gerecse Mountains . From there an aqueduct built later transported fresh water to the legionary camp of Brigetio , which was completed under Emperor Hadrian (117-138) , which was also an important crossroads and was located on an important military and trade route that ran along the southern bank of the Danube. The basis for the construction of the Iža-Leányvár fort on a small square elevation thus formed the legionary camp as an important military base of operations, and the river could be optimally monitored through the interaction of the two crews on the right and left banks of the Danube. A wall extending from the south-west tower of the bridgehead fort towards the Danube and a mirror-like wall on the side of the legionary camp indicate a barrier that was supposed to secure a bridge over the Danube. The Benedictine Father Rudolf Gyulai (1848–1906) was able to observe the remains of an ancient bridge over the Danube near Brigetio towards the end of the 19th century , which was used by both the military and trade. It was thus possible for the fort crew to get to the legionary camp with dry feet, or to bring reinforcements quickly from there in the event of an alarm.

In ancient times, the counted Brigetio opposite bank to the settlement area of the Germanic tribe of the Quadi , who often with little further east in the Hungarian Great Plain living Sarmatian Jazyges Rome was received threatening alliances and therefore was under particularly close scrutiny of the Roman army. Until the annexation of Upper Hungary to Czechoslovakia through the Treaty of Trianon , which was concluded in 1920 , the square belonged to Hungary.

Research history

The oldest picture of the fort area reproduced as a top view is a depiction of the 17th century, which was made as a result of the Battle of Komárno (1661) on behalf of General Louis de Souchés. In the 18th century, the scholar Matthias Bel (1684–1749) mentioned the ruins and, at that time, well-preserved walls of the “castle”. On the occasion of their journey along the Danube, the Englishman Richard Pococke (1704–1765) and his cousin Jeremiah Milles (1714–1784) became aware of the Leányvár castle. The two could also identify the legionary camp opposite as the ancient Brigetio . Milles made an existing sketch of the two military facilities and the neighboring amphitheater.

From 1906 to 1909, as well as 1912 and 1913, the Hungarian teacher and amateur archaeologist János Tóth-Kurucz (1878–1969), who was born in Izsa (Iža) at that time, examined large sections of the fort, published the results and founded the Friends of Leányvár Castle. Most of his diagnosis plan is still valid. It was not until 1932 that the Czechoslovak archaeologist Jaroslav Böhm (1901–1962) continued this work with smaller soundings at the fort trenches. In 1955 and 1956, two excavation campaigns followed under the prehistorian Bedřich Svoboda (1896–1975) and in 1957 an investigation led by Mária Lamiová-Schmiedlová. Then in 1959 the Porta decumana was again dug. Since 1978 the Archaeological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Nitra has been responsible for the preservation, presentation and research of Leányvár. The Slovak archaeologists Ján Rajtár and Klára Kuzmová in particular distinguished themselves with their excavations and investigations into the history of the fort in the decades that followed. As part of a cooperation between the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Neutra, temporary earth storage facilities were discovered near the fort in the spring of 1990 and in the spring of 1993 with the help of aerial archeology and under the direction of Claus-Michael Hüssen and Jan Rajtár 1992/1993 archaeologically examined.

Building history

From the area around Iža-Leányvár a small group of early Roman readings from the time before the Second World War has been published, dated to the reign of Emperor Domitian (81–96). It contains a sigillate from La Graufesenque in southern Gaul , the bronze buckle of a saddle girth, the bronze leaf-shaped pendant of a harness and the fragment of a bronze buckle of a double-button fibula. The archaeologist Ján Rajtár assumed that despite these sparse finds, there was at least a short military presence of Roman troops under Domitian. The history of Iža-Leányvár must always be viewed in connection with the developments at the Brigetio legionary camp , as important analogies with the development of the fort can be derived from it.

Wood-earth warehouse

In the late 2nd century AD, the area around Brigetio, settled by the Marcomanni and Quadi, rose to enormous strategic importance. The research suggests that several military operations began from there. Kuzmová and Rajtár dated the establishment of a wood-earth warehouse, first documented by Svoboda, to the time between 171 and 175 AD during the ongoing Marcomannic Wars (166-180) under Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180). The two of them came to these results after their excavation under the southeast tower of the younger stone fort in 1985, when they examined an early crew barracks in a reliable and unambiguous stratigraphic situation and found coins and sigillates that could be assigned to a specific time. In the summer of 175 AD, like the Marcomanni and Jazygen, the Quadi had to accept the Roman peace conditions and give up a strip of their territory along the left bank of the Danube. But the three main opponents, believed to have been defeated, did not adhere to the peace treaties. Heavy fighting broke out again. Even before the end of the war in 180 AD, the newly founded camp was destroyed again by enemy action, as evidenced by a thick layer of fire that was observed again and again, as well as the militaria and complete ceramic vessels distributed in the alleyways of the camp at the time. The majority of the coins recovered up to 1990 came from the reign of Emperor Marc Aurel. As a final coin embossed between December 178 and the spring 179 could ace be determined.

Enclosure

The total extent of the wood-earth camp with its rounded corners (playing card shape) has not yet been fully recorded, but a trapezoidal or diamond-shaped fortification with an area of ​​at least 3 hectares can be expected. The fort was located with its two long sides almost exactly on an imaginary north-south axis and was only slightly turned to the west. A double-pointed trench was created as an obstacle to the approach and an earth dam was built with the excavation, which was also preceded by a wooden palisade that ran around the entire camp. On the Praetorial Front, the north side of the fortification, the trenches were not interrupted by a crossing. Therefore, the north gate, the Porta praetoria , was only accessible via a wooden bridge. Since the trenches and weir structures facing the Danube could not be further identified, no statement can be made about the location of the western and eastern camp gates (Porta principalis sinistra and Porta principalis dextra) . At the rear south gate, the Porta decumana , which was closer to the Danube than the gate of the following stone fort, its structures could have been washed away by the river a long time ago.

Interior development

The elongated rhombic , around 44 meters long and 11.5 meters wide (Building 1) crew barracks with their 0.90 to 1 meter wide door openings face north-south with their long sides. It was found that these massive residential buildings of the soldiers had been built from unfired mud bricks without prior foundations. With the standardized interior division, partition walls separated each building into two wings, each 4 meters wide. Each of these tracts was subdivided into three likewise rhombic rooms from 12.5 to 13 meters in length. The compartments of their half-timbered partitions were filled with wickerwork covered with clay. The mostly mud-tamped floor only had paving made of unbaked mud bricks in a few places. Between the barracks there were alleys 4 to 4.5 meters wide. Apart from post pits and the remains of ovens and fireplaces, there were no other findings on the detailed structure of these structures. The soldiers dug ditches for the rainwater around the outer walls and then channeled it into larger collecting channels.

Finds from the older crew barracks

Excavation plan for the team barracks in the southern part of the fort.

In 1985, Rajtár and Kuzmová began investigating the early team barracks, which they first noticed under the southeast corner tower of the younger stone fort. Further revealing finds were made during the excavations, which, among other things, allowed conclusions to be drawn about historical events surrounding the early fort. Until 1990, broken and complete ceramic vessels, among other things, could be recovered from the team barracks, camp alleys and drainage ditches. In addition, weapon fragments and pieces of equipment came out of the ground. The weapons found, mostly three-winged arrowheads, remains of the bony reinforcements of composite bows , lance tips and a spathe , a long sword, recovered from the floor in Building 4 , suggest a cavalry troop and archers stationed there. This group of finds also includes fragments of Roman rail armor ( Lorica Segmentata ) which at least in part may also date from the 2nd century. Remains of scale armor ( Lorica Squamata ) came to light even more numerous than rail armor . Chain armor ( Lorica Hamata ) could also be detected. The discovery of large quantities of iron nails, with which leather military sandals ( caligae ) were once shod, was remarkable . Due to its location, the original shape of the sole leather was still partially visible on the ground.

Important statements could also be made accessible from the primers recovered here. They date to the second half of the 2nd century AD. Of particular importance was a gilded, magnificent disc brooch with a representation of the Egyptian - Hellenistic god Serapis , which probably imitates models from Dura Europos , Batumi and Rome . A glass fragment had the brand of the manufacturer C. Gratius Salvus . This produced in northern Italy in the second half of the 2nd century.

Stone fort

Attempted reconstruction of the fort, as it was in the 4th century AD.
Subsequent excavations in 2008 at the fort thermal baths. In the foreground is the only southeast tower that was probably not rebuilt in late antiquity.
The northwest corner, reinforced with a fan-shaped tower during late antiquity.
Excavation plan set in stone in front of the Porta decumana .
Older construction remains with a younger fountain on Via decumana . In the background the southwest corner of the fort.
Subsequent excavation in 2008 at the fort thermal baths in the southeast corner of the camp.

With the end of the Marcomann Wars, an extensive construction program began under Emperor Commodus (180–192) to restore the numerous Limes facilities damaged and destroyed in these wars, which is attested by findings and inscriptions at many points in the Pannonian Limes. The area of ​​the burned-down wood-earth camp was completely leveled and the fort was then rebuilt in stone. All the material for the reconstruction work had to be brought in from the south bank of the Danube. The bricks had obviously also been transported there from a more distant production facility. The brick stamps testify that construction teams from the Legio I Adiutrix in Brigetio were called in for the construction. The almost square new building with a size of 175 × 176 meters (3 hectares) was built on the same site as its predecessor. Typically for this time period, the four corners of the system as well as those of the wooden previous construction were rounded. However, the long sides of the fortification were now centered exactly in the four cardinal directions and moved a little further north. Due to the hillside sloping slightly south towards the Danube, the drainage system had to be planned accordingly.

A revision excavation at the Porta praetoria revealed a total of four construction phases at the stone fort of Iža-Leányvár. In particular, modifications during the reign of Emperor Valentinian I (364–375) are documented there - as in most of the Pannonian military sites. This is confirmed by the brick stamps of the Lupicinius and Terentianus military tribunes . Terentianus was active as a staff officer in the province of Valeria during at least the tenure of Frigeridus dux (371–373 / 374), Lupicinus can be assigned to the period after 368 or before 377.

Defensive wall and trenches

As an obstacle to the approach, the fortification had a double pointed ditch on the west, north and east sides, which was suspended in the area of ​​the gate approach. On the south side, the decuman front , no continuous trenches could be observed. Apparently the Danube, which flows past the fort, was supposed to take over the protective function.

Gates and towers

The fort had a gate on all four sides, which was flanked on both sides by two rectangular towers. As the Porta decumana , excavated in 1959, showed, its flank towers protruded 0.85 meters above the connection of the surrounding wall. Follow-up examination carried out for the first time in 1908 At the Porta praetoria , which was rebuilt in late antique times, no more precise statements could be made in this context. This clear projection of the gate towers could also be observed at the two other approaches. With the exception of the north gate facing the possible opponents, which was designed as a single lane, all other passages had a short wall (spina) in their middle between the gate towers , which enabled two-lane entry and exit. It could also be determined that the road surface in the goal area consisted of small rubble stones. However, one of the most noticeable structural changes to the gates from late antiquity was the renovation of the Porta praetoria in late antiquity. In order to make the construction work possible, the inner trench first had to be filled in and leveled, as it was partially covered by the new building. Then the flanks of the two gate towers were extended to the north and probably merged again in a U-shape at each tower. The gate towers now protruded 8.25 to 8.40 meters from the connection of the defensive wall. Conversions of this kind are usually ascribed to the Constantinian era. Archaeologists assume further that with the construction of the Emperor Valentinian I the last work on the Porta Praetoria connect. At that time, a wall was built that connected the two apexes of the U-shaped arch and thus completely closed the gate. No such reinforcement could be found on the other three gate structures.

Between the four corner towers and gates there was a rectangular intermediate tower, which was also attached to the inside of the fort wall. A total of eight intermediate towers with level access can therefore be assumed. Three of the corner towers were converted into fan-shaped towers in late antiquity. In the run-up to the south-eastern corner tower, which was the only one that had evidently not been expanded in the shape of a fan, ten cylindrical pits with a slightly funnel-shaped design in the upper area with a diameter between 0.90 and 1.50 meters could be observed in three irregular rows facing south-west connected to the innermost defensive trench that ended there and ran parallel to the defensive wall. At the Pannonian Danube Fort Intercisa , three similar pits were observed in the inner area at the north-western corner tower. The finds from the backfilling of the pit allow a date to be dated back to the late Imperial Era - most likely to the time when the fan-shaped corner towers were built. On the other hand, a heavily damaged wall remnant on one of the inner corners of the tower could still indicate the lack of conversion.

Interior development

The conception of the buildings inside the warehouse partly followed the standardized construction scheme of the middle imperial era. But there were some peculiarities here. Typically, the front sides of the oblong, rectangular barracks in the front camp (praetentura) were oriented towards the via praetoria running south from the north gate . On the west side of the street, among other things, typical crew barracks with head buildings for the officers could be excavated. Something similar was observed on the Via decumana running north from the south gate . Modern excavations were able to analyze a barracks building on the west side of the road over a length of 30 meters. The floors of the barracks, which were built of half-timbered or unfired adobe bricks, consisted of tamped clay. Only foundation gutters dug into the ground with broken limestone remained from the partition walls. According to the findings, the building fell victim to a fire disaster as early as 250 AD, which could be related to a war that threatened the northern Pannonian borders again. In the course of the reconstruction, a construction team leveled the area of ​​the crew accommodation and removed the material that was still usable for a new use.

Opposite the barracks in the Praetentura were elongated buildings with rectangular posts in their center to stabilize the roof structure. Another building near the northeast wall can be addressed as a granary (Horreum) . Unusual was an oblong, rectangular building in both the front and the rear camp (Retentura) which, with its long side occupying almost the entire street, bordered the route of Via praetoria immediately to the east or covered half of the Via decumana running north from the south gate . Both buildings were roughly the same size and had a continuous subdivision in their gable center. In the middle of the camp, at least the front of the southern building met the Via principalis dextra coming from the east gate . This concept made the establishment of a at the intersection of the bearing main roads (Groma) lying rod building (Principia) impossible. Instead, the archaeologists were able to identify another elongated, rectangular building as the commandant's office, the narrow western side of which rose almost directly in front of the inner flight of the western gate, completely overlaying the Via principalis sinistra and the eastern front side at the right-angled intersection of Via praetoria , Via principalis dextra and via decumana flowed. Some of the buildings are attributed to horse stables. The building structures, which are mostly only known from the historical excavations of Tóth-Kurucz, will in part not have been erected at the same time. How the structural conditions actually presented themselves during the various development phases of the fort in antiquity can only be clarified by modern, large-scale excavations, which are still pending.

In the Principia of Iža-Leányvár, the largely standardized building scheme of the middle imperial period had already been completely abandoned. The building is largely structured by three longitudinal walls equally spaced from each other. The resulting main wings are divided into smaller and larger rooms by walls of different sizes.

It was probably due to the location in the Barbaricum that the bathing facilities had to be built directly in the fort. The complete, relatively complex rectangular building with a small rectangular apse could be seen in the south-east corner of the fortification.

The findings in the southwestern interior of the fort, which has been examined in a modern way, include two large dome ovens made of air-dried bricks for baking bread as well as a well with a round diameter, which was in the area of ​​Lagerringstrasse (Via sagularis) in front of the southwestern intermediate tower. As in many other military camps, the well walls were stiffened by old, worn-out softwood barrels that had been brought into the well hole. A round enclosure set in stone formed the finish on the surface.

Troops and military personnel

The camp and the occupation are not mentioned in the main ancient sources or on the inscription stones discovered so far. It is therefore difficult to determine today which units were stationed there. Based on the weapons found, it is assumed that the fort's crew consisted largely of horsemen and archers.

The following units could have been stationed in Celemantia :

Time position Troop name comment
2nd to 4th century AD Legio prima Adiutrix (the first legion, the helper) Presumably the garrison was also provided by vexillations of this legion stationed in nearby Brigetio .
2nd century AD Ala prima Hispanorum Aravacorum (the first Hispanic cavalry regiment of the Arevacians ) This roughly 500-strong unit, originally from Hispania (Moncloa-Aravaca is now a district of Madrid ), has been in the Upper Pannonian border area since pre-Flavian times. Their first Pannonian bases were probably Carnuntum and then Arrabona ( Győr ). A grave inscription from one of their soldiers came to light at both fort locations.

It is very likely that the force was also used in Trajan's Dacian wars . As a military diploma found in Regensburg shows, the regiment was again stationed in Upper Pannonia on December 16, 113. Since the Győr fort was now occupied by the Ala I Ulpia contariorum milliaria , the Ala I Hispanorum Aravacorum must have moved to another, as yet unsecured location.

A military diploma from August 1, 150 discovered in Brigetio shows that the Ala could have been standing in the vicinity of the legionary camp on the south bank of the Danube even then. This diploma was issued to the soldier Victor from the Pannonian Azaleans by the governor of the African province of Mauretania Caesariensis , Porcius Vetustinus . In the same year Porcius Vetustinus dismissed a number of other Pannonian soldiers who were apparently temporarily subordinate to him. The note in the diploma "cum essent in expedition (e) Mauretan (iae) Caesarens (is)" indicates a campaign (expeditio) in which the entire Ala prima Hispanorum Aravacorum or at least a vexillation of the regiment was involved at the time.

The historically best known deployment of the regiment took place during the Marcomann Wars against the Germanic Nariskers . Their king Valao was killed in a duel by the regimental commander at the time, M. Valerius Maximianus, with which the latter laid the foundation for an extraordinary career. After the end of the war, the cavalry might have provided the first garrison in Iža-Leányvár. In this context, the archaeologists Barnabás Lőrincz (1951–2012) and Zsolt Visy assumed in 1987 that the Ala had already been moved there after the Second Dacian War, which, however, did not coincide with the excavation results from Iža-Leányvár published a short time later .

The inscriptions found at the fort, which name members of the military, were usually only brought from Brigetio to Iža-Leányvár for secondary use, to be used there as building material:

In a canal under the southwest tower of the fort, a heavily weathered grave inscription (90 × 67 × 20 cm) from the 3rd century was found as a spoil in 1907 , which reminded of Qu (i) etus Petrus, the administrator of the Primus Pilus Antonius Agrippinus, who died at the age of 22. According to Lőrincz, the stone dates from between 200 and 300 AD and was probably brought here from a burial ground near Brigetio .

D (is) M (anibus)
et perp (etuae) securitati Qu (i) eti
Petri [qui e] git actum Ant (oni)
Agrippini p (rimi) p (ili) qui vixit an (nos) XXII
m (enses) X d (ies) XII h (oras) VI Qu (i) etius Arrianus
pater filio pientissimo f (aciendum) c (uravit)
et Ant (onio) Gelasio canabario
fi (lio) eius

A limestone votive stele that was also abducted had been consecrated by a soldier to the forest god Silvanus domesticus . The stone is dated to the 2nd half of the 2nd or 3rd century.

Sil (vano) dom (estico)
Sp () Primitius
mil (es) l (egionis) IA (diutricis)
v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito)

Translation: "For Silvanus domesticus Sp (urius?) Primitius, soldier of the First Legion Adiutrix, honored his vows gladly and for a fee."

Another inscription that was recovered at the fort, but has now disappeared, also came from the grave fields around Brigetio .

] / m [e] nses XI
[e] t dies XV
[C] aecil (ius) Rufus
[t] rib (unus) mil (itum) leg (ionis) I ad (iutricis) v
[e] t Ovidia Tertul-
la filiae dulcis-
sim (a) ep (onendum) c (uravit)

Translation: “... (She lived? Years), 11 months and 15 days. Caecilius Rufus, military tribune of the First Legion Adiutrix, and Ovidia Tertulla had their beloved daughter (this tombstone) built. "

End and post-Roman development

Research generally assumes that Iža-Leányvár was violently destroyed at the latest after the devastating effects of the Battle of Adrianople (378) on the Romans . As the finds and findings make clear, after the evacuation by the Romans, quadratic settlers settled on the fort area for a relatively short time. They soon mingled with a group of immigrants who may have been made up of Goths or Alans . In the first half of the 5th century at the latest, however, the square was finally given up and abandoned.

Marching camp

Five differently sized, briefly occupied wood-earth camps (so-called temporary marching camps) were found in the immediate vicinity to the west and north-west of the fort. They prove the presence of various smaller tactical units to the left of the Danube, which were probably used in various operations during the Marcomannic War. The camps, discovered for the first time in 1990 by the aerial photograph archaeologist Otto Braasch , were scientifically examined by Hüssen and Rajtár. It turned out that the sizes of the camps varied between 1 and 6.5 hectares. Each of the rectangular enclosures had rounded corners and was surrounded by a remarkably careful and regular pointed ditch that exposed on all four sides of the fence in front of the entrances. The width of the trenches was measured to be 2 to 2.5 meters and the depth almost 2 meters. In the filling of the trench of camp 2, a denarius of the later emperor's wife Bruttia Crispina was found between 178 and 180 AD . In addition, knowledge about the prevailing agricultural situation at Iža-Leányvár in the late 2nd century could be gained from the trench backfilling.

More finds

Sketch of the Silvanus Altar of Aurelia Felica.

Ceramics

Most of the ceramics found in Iža-Leányvár (including clay lamps, cookware and tableware in various qualities) come from the Gerhát and Kurucdomb military pottery east of the Brigetio legionary camp . The factories founded by the Legio I Adiutrix during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138) produced until the 30s of the 3rd century AD and were located exactly opposite the bridgehead fort on the other bank of the Danube. In addition to regional goods, the military in Iža-Leányvár was also supplied with imported products - in particular Terra Sigillata - from the Roman provinces of Gaul (including Lezoux), Germania (Rheinzabern) and from Raetia (Westerndorf, Schwabmünchen II). The not very numerous Antonine terra sigillata fragments could be located almost equally in Rheinzabern and Lezoux . The forms of drag are known. 18/31, 33, 37 and 54 . In addition to other useful ceramics, a few Germanic finds were also found. The quantity of imported goods found reached its peak during the Severan epoch (193–235).

Medallion Faustina the Younger

The finely crafted bronze medallion of the younger Faustina († 176), wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, found in the vicinity of Iža-Leányvár in 1922 , is one of the most valuable ancient finds in Slovakia, as only three comparable specimens are known worldwide. The 39 millimeter diameter piece can be dated to the year 169 and weighs 48.70 grams. Archaeologists suspect that it was either lost or hidden during the Marcomannic Wars. The front of the medallion shows a portrait of Faustina, on the back (reverse) an allegorically prepared farewell scene between Faustina and Marcus Aurelius who is setting out on a campaign. As the seated goddess Venus, the wife hands the emperor, depicted heroically naked as Mars god of war , a helmet while he girds his sword on. Next to him is his breastplate. The piece is now in the coin collection of the Historical Museum in the Bratislava Castle.

Inscriptions

At the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to the tombstone mentioned, a small, around 25 centimeter high votive altar for the god Silvanus Domesticus, carved from a sandstone block, was found in the castle , which is now kept in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest . The inscription is incomplete because the left side has broken off.

"[S (ilvano)] D (omestico) s (acrum)
Aur (elia)
[F] eli-
[c] av (otum) s (olvit) "

Translation: “Dedicated to Silvanus Domesticus. Aurelia Felica has kept her vows. "

This stone is joined by a large number of other altar stones and grave steles as well as parts of grave structures. In addition, the limestone body of a statuette could be recovered, which shows a naked standing man wearing a cloak. The provincial Roman piece, which probably embodies a mythical figure, is now kept in Neutra.

Burial grounds

Roman burials have not yet been discovered at Iža-Leányvár Castle and are not expected there, as the Romans did not bury their dead in the Barbaricum if possible .

Lost property

The finds from Iža-Leányvár can be seen in the Roman lapidarium of Bastion VI in the Slovak part of Komorn , in the Ponitrianske Museum in Neutra , in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest and at the Bratislava Castle.

Notice and monument protection

As early as 1957, the site was placed under monument protection by the Czechoslovak authorities and has enjoyed special protection as a national Slovak cultural monument since 1991 . The site was converted into an open-air museum in the 1990s, which visitors can visit free of charge. The fort area as well as the earth storage facilities are protected objects in the sense of the Monument Protection Act of the Slovak Republic passed in 2001, unauthorized excavations are forbidden to report excavations.

See also

Web links

literature

  • Claus-Michael Hüssen , Ján Rajtár : On the question of archaeological evidence of the Marcomann Wars in Slovakia. In: Herwig Friesinger, Jaroslav Tejral, Alois Stuppner (eds.): Marcomann wars - cause and effects. Brno 1994. pp. 217-232.
  • Claus-Michael Hüssen: Roman field camps in Komárno-Vel'ky Harcás. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission , Vol. 73/1992, (1993), p. 548.
  • Klára Kuzmová : lead objects from Iža-Leányvár - the bridgehead of the Brigetio legionary camp. In: Antaeus. Announcements from the Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. No. 24 , Budapest 1997/98. Pp. 296-305.
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Remarks

  1. ^ Dénes Gabler (ed.): The Roman Fort at Ács-Vaspuszta (Hungary) on the Danubian limes. Part 2. BAR, Oxford 1989, p. 113.
  2. ^ A b Barnabás Lőrincz , Zsolt Visy : The auxiliary troops of the Pannonia superior province under Trajan. In: Acta archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 39 , Budapest 1987. pp. 337-345; here: p. 339.
  3. ^ Zsolt Visy : The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 57.
  4. ↑ Endre Tóth : The Ptolemaic determination of the common boundaries of Pannonia Superior and Inferior. In: Folia Archaeologica. 36, 1985, pp. 85-100, here: pp. 92-93.
  5. ^ László Barkóczi, András Mócsy : The Roman Inscriptions of Hungary (RIU) . 2. Delivery. Salla, Mogentiana, Mursella, Brigetio. Adolf M. Hakkert, Amsterdam 1976, ISBN 963-05-0680-7 , p. 89.
  6. ↑ AE 1971, 318 .
  7. ↑ a b c Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 185.
  8. ^ Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Beginnings of the Roman camp in Iža. In: Archeologické Rozhledy. 38, 1986, pp. 358-377; here: p. 358.
  9. ↑ a b c d Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 198.
  10. ↑ a b emesis Számadó, Lászlo Borhy: Brigetio Temporary camps. In: Zsolt Visy (ed.): The Roman army in Pannonia. Teleki Lázló Foundation 2003, ISBN 963-86388-2-6 , p. 79.
  11. ↑ a b c Brief report: Roman camps in southern Slovakia. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. Volume 74, 1993, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1994, p. 859.
  12. ↑ Klára Kuzmová: Southwest Slovakia in the early Roman Empire in the light of archaeological sources. In: Region in transition. Region and empire. The area of ​​the upper Danube in the Roman Empire. Interdisciplinary conference in Regensburg from 18. – 19. September 2008. Verlag Frank & Timme, Berlin 2010, pp. 57–75, here: pp. 65–66.
  13. ↑ Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: The wood-earth camp. In: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 186.
  14. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz Sándor Petény: Two new military diplomas from Pannonia. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy. Volume 101, Verlag Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 1994, pp. 197–204, footnote 20 with further references ( online, PDF ).
  15. ^ A b Titus Kolník: Roman stations in the Slovak section of the north Pannonian Limes foreland. In: Archeologické Rozhledy. 38, 1986, pp. 411-434; here: p. 426.
  16. ↑ Ján Rajtár: The wood-earth warehouse from the time of the Marcomann Wars in Iža. In: Problems of relative and absolute chronology from the Laténe period to the early Middle Ages. Krakau 1992, pp. 149-170; here: 167.
  17. ↑ a b c Ján Rajtár: The wood-earth warehouse from the time of the Marcomann Wars in Iža. In: Problems of relative and absolute chronology from the Laténe period to the early Middle Ages. Krakau 1992, pp. 149-170; here: 162.
  18. ↑ a b Ján Rajtár: The wood-earth warehouse from the time of the Marcomann Wars in Iža. In: Problems of relative and absolute chronology from the Laténe period to the early Middle Ages. Krakau 1992. pp. 149-170; here: 154.
  19. ↑ Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: The wood-earth camp. In: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 187.
  20. ↑ Ján Rajtár: The wood-earth warehouse from the time of the Marcomann Wars in Iža. In: Problems of relative and absolute chronology from the Laténe period to the early Middle Ages. Krakau 1992, pp. 149-170; here: 155.
  21. ↑ Ján Rajtár: The wood-earth warehouse from the time of the Marcomann Wars in Iža. In: Problems of relative and absolute chronology from the Laténe period to the early Middle Ages. Krakau 1992, pp. 149-170; here: 157.
  22. ^ Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 33.
  23. ↑ a b Gerhild Klose, Annette Nünnerich-Asmus: Limits of the Roman Empire. von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-3429-X , p. 143.
  24. ↑ Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 169.
  25. ↑ a b Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 202. Illustration of the stamp.
  26. ^ Barnabás Lőrincz: A későrómai hídfőállások bélyeges téglái Valeriában. In: Attila Gaál (Ed.): Pannoniai kutatások. A Soproni Sándor emlékkonferencia előadásai (Bölcske, 1998. October 7th) . Szekszárd 1999, pp. 53-68, footnote 12.
  27. ↑ Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 196.
  28. ↑ a b Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Previous findings on the fortification of the Roman fort in Iža. In: Slovenská Archeológia. Vol. 34, 1986, pp. 185-222; here p. 219.
  29. ^ Klára Kuzmová, Ján Rajtár: Beginnings of the Roman camp in Iža. In: Archeologické Rozhledy. 38, 1986, pp. 358-377; here: p. 372.
  30. ↑ Ján Rajtár: 1996, pp. 83-95.
  31. ^ Karl Strobel: Investigations into the Dacer Wars Trajan. Studies on the history of the middle and lower Danube region in the High Imperial Era . Habelt, Bonn 1984 (Antiquitas, series 1, 33). ISBN 3-7749-2021-4 . P. 112.
  32. ^ Karlheinz Dietz : The oldest military diploma for the province of Pannonia Superior. In: Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission. 65, Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1984, pp. 158-268; here: p. 215.
  33. ↑ CIL 16, 99 .
  34. ^ Andreas Gutsfeld: Roman rule and native resistance in North Africa. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-515-05549-5 , p. 109.
  35. ^ Gerhard Winkler : Noricum and Rome. In: Rise and Fall of the Roman World. Walter de Gruyter publishing house, Berlin, New York 1977. ISBN 3-11-006735-8 . P. 223, footnote 205.
  36. ↑ AE 1969/70, 464 .
  37. ↑ CIL 3, 11003 .
  38. ↑ CIL 3, 11025 .
  39. ↑ Wolfgang Müller, Ursula Zimmermann: The period III in the auxiliary fort of Carnuntum. In: Files of the 8th Austrian Archaeological Day at the Institute for Classical Archeology at the University of Vienna from April 23 to 25, 1999. Phoibos Verlag 2001, ISBN 3-901232-28-1 , p. 163 (Wiener Forschungen zur Archäologie 4).
  40. ^ The earth storage near Arachne - central object database of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the Archaeological Institute of the University of Cologne .
  41. ↑ Kristina Adler-Wölfl: Pannonian glossy crockery from the auxiliary fort of Carnuntum. Austrian Archaeological Institute, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-900305-44-7 , S, 115.
  42. ↑ Péter Prohászka: Gazdag padmalyos női Temetkezés Brigetio / Komárom-Szőny Gerhát temetőjéből. In: Folia archaeologica. 52, Budapest 2005/2006, pp. 79-107; here p. 105.
  43. ↑ Gabriella Fényes: Investigations into ceramic production in Brigetio. In: Acta Archaeologica. 54, Budapest 2003, pp. 101-163.
  44. ↑ Éva B. Bónis: Vessel depot in the pottery quarter of the military town of Brigetio. In: Folia Archaeologica. 27, Budapest 1976, pp. 73-88.
  45. ^ Oldřich Pelikán: Slovensko a Rímske impérium. Slovenské vydavatel̕stvo krásnej literatúry, Bratislava 1960. p. 263.
  46. ↑ Klára Kuzmová: Another sigillata fragment from Schwabmünchen II (Schwabegg) from the auxiliary fort in Iža. In: Sborník Národního muzea v Praze 54, A-Historie, Prague, 2000. pp. 87–89.
  47. ↑ Elena Minarovičová: Roman coins in Slovakia. Medallion of Faustina the Younger. In: Pamiatky a múzeá 1998. Revue pre kultúrne dedičstvo. Slovenské národné múzeum, Bratislava 1998, p. 73.
  48. ↑ CIL 3, 11001 ; The Roman Inscriptions of Hungary (RIU) 2 No. 627.
  49. ↑ Klára Kuzmová in: Files of the 8th International Colloquium on Problems of Provincial Roman Art 2003. Zagreb 2005, p. 293.
  50. ^ Klára Kuzmová: Spolia from Nové Zámky and their imperial and later architectural contexts. In: Slovenská archeológia. 45/1, 1997, pp. 35-82; here: p. 51.