Tabernae (Rheinzabern)
Tabernae is the name of the Roman settlement from which Rheinzabern (now Rhineland-Palatinate ) arose. In ancient times, the place was an important production center for ceramic goods, including the Terra Sigillata tableware . The settlement existed from the 1st century AD until late antiquity .
The greatest expansion of settlements and the high point of the Sigillata Manufactory with a dominant position in the Roman Rhine and Danube provinces occurred in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries as a result of favorable transport conditions on the Roman Rhine Valley Road and easily accessible raw material deposits. With the Limesfall , a clear cut was noticeable. From the late Roman period there is numerous evidence of a military and rest station as well as brick production by the military.
Surname
The name Tabernae ( Latin for shop or pub , in this case more likely a rest station ) for the ancient Rheinzabern is documented by several written sources. The oldest mention comes from the Antonini Itinerarium from the time of Emperor Caracalla . The place is also recorded as a way station in the Tabula Peutingeriana . The late antique Notitia dignitatum names a division of the Menapii , which belonged to the late Roman army, in Tabernae. Also the place is in a poem of Symmachus to Emperor I. Valentinian mentioned. The addition of Rhenanae to the name is not documented for antiquity. It could be a later addition to differentiate between Bergzabern , as both places have been in the possession of the Reichskloster Klingenmünster since the early Middle Ages .
Geographical location
Rheinzabern is located on the Roman Rhine Valley Road west of the Rhine , which meandered here in Roman times. The striking high bank is about 1000 m from today's town. To the north and south of the settlement there are still extensive forest areas that belong to the Bienwald . Easily accessible clay deposits were stored here under the local alluvial sandy soils . Ancient clay pits can still be recognized today as hollows in the area near the Otterbach .
The Roman road between Strasbourg (Argentoratum) and Speyer (Noviomagus) is considered to be very well researched due to its good preservation in the Bienwald and the findings of numerous Leugensteine . The first stone was discovered in 1824 in the neighboring village of Jockgrim . In 1936, a collection of six Leugenstones was found west of Hagenbach , on which five inscriptions were still preserved. The accumulation is explained by the fact that the stones were replaced while the older ones remained in place. Today there is a replica there .
history
Early imperial times
The convenient location and the easy availability of the raw materials clay and wood led to the emergence of a settlement as early as the 1st century AD, which, like many Vici in the Roman Empire, was strongly commercially oriented. The main axis of the settlement was formed by the Roman road, which was mostly designed as a gravel dam 6 to 6.5 m wide with drainage ditches on both sides. Streams to the north and south of the village were crossed by fords or later bridges, as indicated by a building inscription on the Rottenbach , which names several bridges. The original of the inscription was lost when the city of Strasbourg was bombarded in 1870 .
The early presence of troops in the past often led to the assumption that there was a military camp in Rheinzabern. Traces of trenches were discovered in Mühlgasse and Hoppelgasse, but they cannot be safely interpreted as a military camp. Military equipment is in the found material, but mostly comes from civilian buildings. It is therefore obvious that the military use was mainly connected to the exploitation of the local clay deposits.
Middle imperial period
With the end of military production around 80 AD, the facilities were soon taken over by civilian entrepreneurs. Ceramics production undoubtedly formed the basis for the subsequent civil settlement, which is evidenced by the many workshop areas in the courtyard area of the houses. The rest station that gives the place its name has not yet been located.
Around 150 AD, the production of terra sigillata, along with other ceramic products, began. The favorable location of the raw material deposits and the good transport conditions across the Rhine and its tributaries led to the Rheinzabern Sigillata being sold rapidly. In the found material of most of the settlement and military areas of the northwestern provinces, it displaced the goods previously manufactured in central Gaul in the course of the late 2nd century and, together with the sigillata manufactory on Pacelliufer in Trier ( Augusta Treverorum ) , assumed a dominant position in the market.
The main production lasted about 110 years and ended in the time of the Limesfall , when the sales markets to the right of the Rhine were lost. The direct effects of the imperial crisis of the 3rd century on the settlements are documented by the hoard finds from Hagenbach and Neupotz . In Rheinzabern itself, the advance of the Teutons and the emergency situation of the population is documented by a deposit consisting of bronze crockery and glasses, which was found in 1882 in a house north of Römerstrasse. In Samian Museum another coin hoard from this period is issued, which had been hidden in a kiln. A complete destruction of the place has so far not been proven except for a single find of a postumus coin in a layer of fire. The supply of coins seems to have stopped in the years 270 to 300 AD.
Tabernae in late antiquity
Ceramics and sigillata production seem to have continued to a lesser extent until the 4th century. It was only with the turmoil of the time of the opposing emperor Magnentius around 352 AD that the production of pottery ceramics finally stopped. A small hoard of 37 coins ends with a mint by Constans . From the middle of the 4th century, the place was mainly used for military purposes. The notitia dignitatum names the late Roman unit of the Menapii , the associated fortification is not localized. This is likely to have been in the northern part of Rheinzabern, to which later settlement was limited. There was also a late antique necropolis with several hundred body graves nearby. The clay deposits were used again for the production of bricks with military stamps, of which numerous units are documented by stamps and two kiln finds.
The final end of the Roman settlement came with the crossing of the Rhine in 406 . In Rheinzabern there is another coin treasure that was found in late antique building remains. It ends with a coinage of Honorius . From the grave field in Oberstboth there are some graves - in the Christian tradition without additions - which are likely to date back to the late 5th century.
Ceramic production
Brick factory
Military bricks of the Upper Germanic legions have been secured in Tabernae since 45 AD . According to the finds of stamped bricks, these were the legions I adiutrix , IIII Macedonica , XIV Gemina , XXI Rapax and XXII Primigenia stationed in Mainz ( Mogontiacum ), and also Legio VII Gemina for a short time .
Brick stamp finds from Rheinzabern
Late antique brick of the portisienses
From around 80 AD the brickworks of the legions ended for the time being. The 22nd Legion now bricks closer to the Limes in Frankfurt-Nied . During the middle imperial period, only Legio VIII Augusta, stationed in Strasbourg, occasionally had bricks made in Tabernae, although production no longer reached the level of the 1st century. The VIII Legion also ran its own brickworks in Strasbourg-Koenigshoffen. The gap was closed by civilian entrepreneurs whose production with bricks, coarse and fine ceramics ( Terra Nigra ) was very extensive. There were also a few attempts with Terra Nigra in the 1st century.
While brick production was in the hands of private entrepreneurs in the Middle and High Imperial Era, in late antiquity, bricks were again produced under military direction from the middle of the 4th century. The units of the Menapii, Martenses, Acincenses, Cornacenses and Portisienses are known from stamp finds. A furnace was dug out of the Cornacenses in the 24 acres , and a furnace with bricks from the Portisienses was located in the area of the Roman Bath School.
Terra Sigillata
The production of the fine tableware, so-called terra sigillata , which was widespread in the Roman Empire, began around 150 AD.Probably because of the favorable local conditions, potters who had previously been documented by pottery stamps in other factories settled here. They brought with them the necessary knowledge for the production of the glossy coating ( engobe ) as well as for the production of the stamps and molds. The earliest potters include Ianus, Reginus , and a little later Cerialis and Belsus , who had previously made pottery in Heiligenberg in Lower Alsace. In addition to the so-called picture bowls ( form Dragendorff 37), smooth-walled vessels were also made, which usually bore a potter's stamp. In the later period decorations are with Barbotine frequently.
About 300 names of potters from the period between 150 and 260 AD are known from Rheinzabern. About 90 manufacturers of the picture bowls, which can only be identified by style, are not known by name. Based on the finds, the production figures are estimated at an average of 500,000 to one million vessels per year.
Of the production sites, it was primarily the clay mining pits in the Bienwald am Otterbach that could be found. The clays obtained had to be processed in various sludge basins for the elaborate decoration technique, some of which were found in the local area. The largest reached a side length of six meters. The actual production of vessels required larger, hall-like buildings, most of which had a brick floor. Larger halls are also occupied as post structures with a length of up to 50 meters, which were used to store and dry the vessels.
TS production required special ovens in which temperatures of up to 950 ° C were reached. So far, six such ovens have been found in Rheinzabern, one of which is now integrated into a shared protective structure with the kindergarten on Faustinastrasse. In the early days, the round ovens initially had a diameter of 100–150 cm, later larger ovens with a diameter of three meters were common. The furnaces had round combustion chambers with long stoking channels. Some ovens with a rectangular floor plan were used to produce building ceramics.
In the Terra Sigillata Museum today, in addition to the local history, the manufacture of the sigillata and the numerous production finds are shown. The number of completely preserved vessels is particularly high due to incorrect fires and other pottery waste. Noteworthy and characteristic of terra sigillata production sites are, in addition to the furnace finds, numerous stamps and molds in the found material.
Rheinzaberner TS in the Terra Sigillata Museum
Stamp for the manufacture of shaped bowls for picture bowls
Reconstructed furnace structure
Terra Sigillata Museum
settlement
The buildings and their associated rectangular plots stretched on both sides of the Roman road over a length of about 900 meters. There is evidence of buildings around 70 AD in the form of strip houses , the lowest layers about 1.5 meters below today's surface. At this time ceramic ovens can already be detected in the entire vicus.
In the late 1st century AD, the settlement had already expanded far south. Reliable statements about the civilian settlement in the 2nd and 3rd centuries cannot be made due to the mostly very detailed findings due to the overbuilding in Rheinzabern . In the northern part of the settlement, some buildings seem to have been made more massive in stone.
The vicus was bordered by two larger burial fields in the northeast and southwest. The north-eastern burial ground "Rehgärten" has 137 cremation graves and 5 body burials from the early days of the settlement in the 1st and 2nd centuries. It was visited again in late antiquity. In the south-western “Rappenfeld” grave field, 442 cremation graves and 4 body burials from the 1st to 3rd centuries have been found.
So far nothing is known about public buildings in the vicus. There are also no references to market and bathing facilities. A larger bathing building, which was excavated in 1855/1905 on the Otterbach, is part of a Roman estate ( Villa rustica ) located up the slope . Sanctuaries were also not excavated, but there are numerous divine consecrations that indicate such. Among them are two very high quality five-god stones with representations of Apollo , Fortuna , Vulcanus , Minerva and Mercurius . In the place, which is strongly oriented towards trade, the consecrations for Mercurius are naturally the most common finds, followed by Jupiter and Silvanus . There is also evidence of a matron representation , Epona , Minerva, Juno , Hercules and Vulcanus.
literature
General information on the history of the settlement
- Helmut Bernhard : Rheinzabern GER. Tabernae industrial site. In: Heinz Cüppers (Hrsg.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate. Licensed edition, Nikol, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-60-0 , pp. 532-539.
- Fridolin Reutti : Clay processing industry in the Roman Rheinzabern. Preliminary report for the excavations from 1978-1981. In: Germania 61, 1983, pp. 33-69.
- Fridolin Reutti: New archaeological research in the Roman Rheinzabern. Ed .: Association Terra Sigillata-Museum Rheinzabern e. V., Rheinzabern 1984.
- Rüdiger Schulz, Walter Schellenberger: Museum catalog Terra Sigillata in Rheinzabern. Terra Sigillata Museum, Rheinzabern 1996, ISBN 3-9805231-1-X .
- Friedrich Sprater : The Roman Rheinzabern. Verlag Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Speyer 1948. (partly out of date).
- Rainer Wiegels : Tabernae [1]. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 11, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-476-01481-9 , Sp. 1194.
- Rainer Wiegels: Inscriptions of the Roman Rheinzabern. In: Mitteilungen des Historisches Verein der Pfalz 87, 1989, pp. 11–89.
Publications on the Rheinzaberner Terra Sigillata (potters, shapes and hallmarks)
- Pia Eschbaumer: Terra Sigillata. In: Thomas Fischer (Ed.): The Roman Provinces. An introduction to their archeology. Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8062-1591-X , pp. 267–290, here: pp. 287–289.
- Wilhelm Ludowici : Catalog V. Stamp names and pictures of Roman potters, Legion brick stamps, forms of sigillata and other vessels from my excavations in Rheinzabern 1901–1914. Jockgrim 1927.
- Wilhelm Ludowici: Catalog VI of my excavations in Rheinzabern 1901–1914. The picture bowls of the Roman potters from Rheinzabern. Panel tape. Edited by Heinrich Ricken, Darmstadt 1942.
- Heinrich Ricken: The picture bowls of the Roman potters from Rheinzabern. Text volume with type images for Catalog VI of the excavations by W. Ludowici in Rheinzabern 1901–1904. Edited by Ch. Fischer. Frankfurt 1963.
- Manuel Thomas (arrangement): The decoration series of the Rheinzaberner relief sigillata / by Heinrich Ricken. Edit from the estate by Manuel Thomas. (Text and panel volume) Habelt, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-7749-3315-4 ( materials on Roman-Germanic ceramics 14 ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ CIL 17-02, 607 .
- ^ Itinerarium Antonini 355.
- ↑ a b Notitia dignitatum occ. 41.16.
- ^ Friedrich Sprater: The Roman Rheinzabern. Speyer 1948, p. 9.
- ↑ For the course of the road, see Helmut Bernhard: Römerstraße. Lines between Neulauterburg and Worms. In: Heinz Cüppers (Hrsg.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate. Licensed edition, Nikol, Hamburg 2002, pp. 541–544.
- ↑ CIL 13, 9096 .
- ↑ CIL 17-02, 605 ; CIL 17-02, 606 ; CIL 17-02, 607 ; CIL 17-02, 608 ; CIL 17-02, 609 .
- ↑ CIL 13, 06088 (4, p 88) .
- ↑ Pia Eschbaumer: Terra Sigillata. In: Thomas Fischer (Ed.): The Roman Provinces. An introduction to their archeology. Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8062-1591-X , pp. 267–290, here: p. 287.
- ↑ a b Helmut Bernhard: Rheinzabern GER. Tabernae industrial site. In: Heinz Cüppers (Hrsg.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate. P. 538.
- ↑ For the Rheinzabern Sigillata production see Pia Eschbaumer: Terra Sigillata. In: Thomas Fischer (Ed.): The Roman Provinces. An introduction to their archeology. Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8062-1591-X , pp. 287-289.
- ^ Fridolin Reutti: New archaeological research in the Roman Rheinzabern. Ed .: Association Terra Sigillata-Museum Rheinzabern e. V., Rheinzabern 1984, p. 17.
- ^ Helmut Bernhard: Rheinzabern GER. Tabernae industrial site. In: Heinz Cüppers (Hrsg.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate. P. 536; Fridolin Reutti: New archaeological research in the Roman Rheinzabern. Ed .: Association Terra Sigillata-Museum Rheinzabern e. V., Rheinzabern 1984, p. 17 f.
- ↑ CIL 13, 06087 (4, p 88)
Coordinates: 49 ° 7 ' N , 8 ° 17' E
