Altiaia

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Altiaia is the Roman name of today's city of Alzey . The civil settlement in the later rank of a vicus was created around the birth of Christ and developed into a middle center in the hinterland of the provincial capital Mogontiacum . Altiaia was completely destroyed by the Alemanni invasion in 352. Almost 20 years later, part of the settlement area was built over with a late Roman fort called Alteium , which existed until the middle of the 5th century.

Surname

The place name Altiaia is of Celtic origin. It probably goes back to an archaeologically documented late Latène Age predecessor settlement of a larger size. An inscription for nymph gods, dated November 22, 223, names vicani Altiaienses (citizens of Altiaia) as donors of the dedication. Occasionally the name Alteiensium is used in science .

location

Altiaia was strategically located on a hill (foothills of the Mehlberg) above the Selztal . At this point in the valley there was an easily accessible river crossing and several highways crossed here. Thus the vicus was connected to the Roman imperial and trunk road network.

Development and destruction

In the course of the 1st century the vicus developed alongside the comparable Roman settlement in Bad Kreuznach into one of the central centers in the Rhine-Hessian hinterland. In addition to its importance as a trading place, it can also be assumed that goods and agricultural products were delivered to the provincial capital Mogontiacum from here. An archaeologically well-documented estate in Dautenheim is likely to represent other facilities. Sparse building finds as well as small finds from the vicus area and burial grounds suggest a wealthy small town.

There was a turning point in the context of the Germanic invasions in the middle of the 3rd century. A coin treasure with 381 coins buried during this period suggests at least an imminent threat to the unfortified civilian settlement and a collapse in trade and traffic.

In the context of the conflict over the imperial throne between the legitimate ruler Constantius II and the British usurper Magnentius , the Roman Rhine border was almost completely stripped of his troops by the latter. This subsequently led to a large-scale breakthrough and massive devastation of the border provinces by the Alemanni . In 352, Altiaia was also looted and completely destroyed. Archaeologically, this is reflected in a large, up to 0.60 m to 1 m thick layer of fire. The cellars in use at the time of this disaster were partially filled with fire rubble up to the top. Altiaia was not rebuilt afterwards (at least in the fort area) and lay fallow for almost 20 years as a field of rubble. Around 370 a late Roman fort called Alteium was built over part of the rubble field as part of the Valentine's border security program .

Development

Since the vicus has not been completely excavated, little is known about its structures outside the late Roman fort area. One found u. a. Hopper pits that were not intersected by the Roman cellars of the early 1st century. This suggests that the vicus was still inhabited by a mixed Roman-Celtic population at that time. According to the finds (architectural fragments, statues) the place had a small town character. Its building lines coincided with the later fort until the time of Constantine I. Most of the buildings had a long rectangular floor plan ( strip houses ), their narrow side oriented towards the street. From 300 onwards, due to the more stable political situation, a clear upswing began in Altiaia. Large mansion-like buildings demonstrate a new level of prosperity, which was reflected in larger building projects. In the southern fort area, a large building could be examined from 1910 to 1911, the building lines of which no longer followed those from the early days of the vicus. Recently the remains of a representative building complex were found during excavations, the front of which was over 37 m long. Its roof was made of slate, a fragment of a column suggests the presence of a portico .

literature

  • Heinz Cüppers (Ed.): The Romans in Rhineland-Palatinate . Theiss, Stuttgart 1990; Licensed edition Nikol Verlag, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-933203-60-0 .
  • Jürgen Oldenstein: Alzey Castle. Archaeological investigations in the late Roman camp and studies on border defense in the Mainz ducat . 2009 ( PDF, 14.9 MB - Habilitation thesis University Mainz 1992).

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b CIL 13, 6265 , a dedication of the vicani Altiaienses to the nymphs on November 22, 223.
  2. ^ Marion Witteyer: Mogontiacum - military base and administrative center. The archaeological evidence . In: Franz Dumont, Ferdinand Scherf, Friedrich Schütz (Hrsg.): Mainz - The history of the city . 2nd Edition. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2000-0 , p. 1025.
  3. ↑ Jürgen Oldenstein: 2009, pp. 12-13
  4. ↑ Jürgen Oldenstein: 2009, pp. 12-13

Coordinates: 49 ° 45 '  N , 8 ° 7'  E