Burgus Bač-Bács
Map with all coordinates: | Burgus Bač-Bács | |
|---|---|
| limes | Pannonian Limes |
| Dating (occupancy) | valentine |
| Type | Ländeburgus |
| size | with the trench approx. 63 × 63 m |
| Construction | brick |
| State of preservation | Nothing can be seen of the facility, which is now located in a forest area. |
| place | Bač / Bács |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 20 '44.1 " N , 19 ° 14' 2.3" E |
| height | 84 m. i. J. |
| Previous | Cornacum Fort (southwest) |
| Subsequently | Cuccium Fort (southeast) |
The Burgus Bač-Bács (also called Burgus Bács-Szentantal ) was a late antique Roman country castle whose crew secured a river crossing on the Mosztonga, which flows from the north into the Danube . His remains are on the southern boundaries of the small town of Bač (Hungarian Bács ) belonging to the Batschka in the Serbian province of Vojvodina . The plant was built unusually deep in the Sarmatian Barbaricum and belonged to the system of the Limes Pannonicus (Pannonian Limes).
location
The small, advanced outpost was from today's perspective unusually far in Barbaricum built, making it the Pannonian Limes - next to the excavated in northern Hungary Valentinian large fortress Göd-Bócsaújtelep and partly controversial in its interpretation of findings from Hatvan-Gombospuszta - a rarity . The river landscape, shaped for thousands of years by the Danube, in whose area of influence the bridgehead-like fortification was built, does not show any higher landmarks . The Burgus was at a rounded angle to the Danube flowing from north to south-east. In the terrain relief , the distinguished by fluvial erosion and accumulations formed Auenrelief still significantly. Thus, the back arms of the Danube, which reach far into the country, can be seen as deep channel beds even after the extensive modern canalization efforts and drainage for agricultural use. In many cases, today's corridor boundaries also trace old river loops. Taking these historical circumstances into account, the small military installation was built on the edge of an expansive meadow landscape that was inhospitable for ancient people.
The Burgus is located on the Mosztonga River, which flows south into the Danube. The Mosztonga rises north of the fortification in the swamps near Sombor , which in turn belong to the hydrological system of the Danube. The formerly strongly meandering Mosztonga was also embedded in the wetlands of the Danube, which was traversed by swamps, and oriented parallel to it until the early modern era . Due to the massive deformations that occurred during the centuries of draining this river landscape, the ancient topography of the Mosztonga is difficult to understand.
Research history
The complex was first described in the 19th century by the medieval archaeologist Imre Henszlman (1813–1888), although it did not have the highest priority for him. Immediately next to the little church of St. Anton, which he also examined, which was located next to the path between Bács in the north and the southern village of Bukin, he discovered a small fortification on the bank of the Mosztonga river in 1872, which he called the St. Anton tower . This square was popularly known as Castell Demer Paschas and was ascribed to the Turkish occupation. Henszlmann saw in the tower a medieval outwork of the Bácser fed camp . It was not until the archaeologist András Mócsy (1929–1987) realized that the structural remains were a Roman country castle belonging to the Verőce type .
Burgi of this type are also known in Germany from the banks of the Rhine and Neckar . For example, one was discovered in Engers near Neuwied , another in Neckarau near Mannheim, and the remains of a copy were also found in Ladenburg .
According to Henszlmann's description, which to this day is the only first-hand written document about this complex, the Ländeburgus near Bács must have been in very good condition. Today there is nothing to be seen in the square.
development
From Aquincum ( Budapest ) to Viminatium in Moesia , the settlement areas of the Sarmatian Jazygens , whom Rome, after first experiences, regarded as very dangerous opponents and who repeatedly bordered on the Roman Pannonia, which reached as far as the Danube, bordered since the 1st century AD fell deep into the Roman provinces in history with their archery cataphracts .
Among other things, in order to better control the area inhabited by the Jazygens, the Romans probably built the Limes Sarmatiae under Emperor Constantine the Great (306–337) , which enclosed the settlement areas of this people. During the reign of Emperor Valentinian I (364–375), the army tried to expand or rebuild operations bases across the Danube in the Barbaricum area near the border. The building program also included the Ländeburgi, which enabled the Roman military and supply ships to land safely. In its large enclosed courtyard, not only could military contingents find shelter, but also supplies could be safely stowed away. The advanced facility on the Mosztonga Canal - like the fortress of Neckarau - has a special position, as it did not serve to secure the border, but was rather ruthlessly placed in the areas of a people with whom contracts existed at the time.
Building history
Datable ephigraphische finds - in particular the known by most border Burgi brick temple - were not detected in BACs so that the time allocation of the plant mainly due to their typological peculiarities was possible. A striking feature of the fortification was the fact that it was built entirely from bricks, which is in marked contrast to the Ländeburgi in northern Hungary. In this context, it can be assumed that there is a local peculiarity in southern Pannonia, as many public buildings were built here using pure brick and this can be proven in particular for late antiquity.
Henszlmann found the Burgus in a rectangular depression around 200 feet (around 63 meters) long on each side , which probably formed the trench of the complex. This can be assumed because the researcher spoke of the fact that the tower located in the depression stood on a "fairly high hill of ruins" and that the inner courtyard of the land, which he referred to as a terrace , should have towered high above the surrounding depression . The corresponding Ländeburgi, which could be examined in several places in northern Hungary, fit well into the interior of the hollow, according to the 50.5 × 43 meter large Burgus Dunakeszi . Henszlmann went on to explain: "... more to the west [in the recess] are the lower parts of a square tower, the 6 'thick wall of which surrounds an interior space of 24' 6 '' light side ..." The excavator determined that this The pavement on the first floor of this tower was still preserved in places, and recognized a low protrusion on three sides, which he mentioned as a possible bench. “At the corner formed by the western and northern tower wall, the stairwell rose from the western wall ... and to the east of the tower there was a terrace or a forecourt, bordered to the south and north by two walls. The fact that this terrace towered high above the surrounding depression is proven by a water drainage which pierces its northern wing wall; it is 13 "wide and 9½" high; I did not find a corresponding one in the southern wing wall, east of the terrace, at a distance of about 50 '7' 'from the tower wall on this side, there were three pillars 4' 5 '' wide and over 6 'long, one because of symmetry assumed fourth was not available. These pillars were probably used to support a bridge that led from the tower over the depression. If this was the case, two more rows of such pillars had to follow in an easterly direction, but none of them could be found, although I had a fairly deep trench dug in that direction. "
The quadrangular, 63 × 63 meter large moat of the Bácser Burgus is unique in the provinces of Pannonia. Even outside of these administrative areas, it could only be scientifically attested to at the fortification of Engers. According to Henszlmann, the walls of the square core structure, the originally several storeys high residential and watchtower, were around 1.90 meters thick and had a clear width of around 19 meters. The finding of the staircase approach to the first floor was remarkable. From the two flanks of the core works - in Bács from the north and south side - a wall each went off at right angles and ended in smaller corner towers at most of the Ländeburgi. From these two corners in Bács a wing wall bent again at right angles to the east and always ended up in the river bed at the time of construction. From the river side, the inner courtyard enclosed by wing walls - referred to as a terrace by Henszlmann - could be entered. Depending on the reconstruction proposal, the courtyard could accommodate Roman river boats and be used as a depot for supplies.
Mócsy assumed that the Ländeburgus was responsible for supplying troops along the Mosztonga Canal. In his opinion, this permanent station was built for troops permanently operating in the Barbaricum . He sees the system as a building block for a supply network that was built outside the Roman Empire at the time of Valentinian I.
The End
The ruthless military building policy in the area of the Barbaricums provoked strong protests from the peoples living on the Danube. A major cause for the end of the Roman expansion plans in this sector of the empire was the disregard of the treaties concluded with the Germanic Quadi and the unjustified appropriation of their southern settlement areas in the north of Pannonia. The barrel finally overflowed with the insidious assassination of the quadratic king Gabinius. Depending on the source ( Zosimos and Ammianus Marcellinus ), a Celestius or Marcellianus , the reigning Dux since 373/374 , was responsible for this act . Thereupon the Quads, with whom the Jazygen now made common cause, rose and invaded the Pannonian provinces. Therefore, Valentinian I had to appear personally in June 374 on the Pannonian theater of war in order to overthrow the opponents. The emperor died during the peace negotiations on November 17, 375 in the legion camp of Brigetio . Soon after his death and in the course of the effects of the Roman defeat at the Battle of Adrianople (378), all attempts to exercise control over the Danube with the help of fixed military locations had to be given up. But the Jazygen culture obviously did not survive the 4th century either.
Post-Roman development
From the uppermost cultural layers of Burgus, Henszlmann recovered four old Hungarian coins from the time of the king (since 1387) and later Roman-German emperor (1433–1437) Sigismund of Luxembourg . Late medieval coins from this period are among the most common finds in the Pannonian region, which have become known from excavation sites with questions relating to the Roman period. Mócsy speculated that the tower, the core work of the Ländeburgus, might have been inhabited in the Middle Ages. Many Roman stone buildings in Pannonia were preserved as ruins until the 18th and in some cases until the 19th century.
Monument protection
In Serbia, the protection of archaeological objects and zones has top priority and is regulated by the Monument Protection Act (Official Gazette SG RS, 71/94) defined in 1994 with its subsequent amendments and additions as well as by special decrees. The Serbian Monuments Office in Belgrade, which belongs to the Ministry of Culture, is responsible. Research and targeted collection of finds are subject to authorization. The damage and destruction of archaeological finds and sites must be reported to the authorities within 24 hours. No antiquities may be taken out of the country without consulting the Serbian Monument Authority. Offenses are punished as criminal acts according to Serbian law. Checks are to be expected when entering the European Union.
See also
literature
- András Mócsy: A late Roman bank fortress in the Batschka? In: Osjecki zbornik 12 (1969), pp. 71-79, again in András Mócsy: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3515061037 , p. 240 ff.
- Zsolt Visy : The Yugoslav stretch of the Pannonian Limes . In: Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , pp. 126-130.
Remarks
- ↑ a b Zsolt Visy: The Yugoslav stretch of the Pannonian Limes . In: Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , pp. 126-130; here: p. 127.
- ^ A b András Mócsy: A late Roman bank fortress in the Batschka? In: András Mócsy: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3515061037 , p. 240.
- ↑ a b Barnabás Lőrincz : A későrómai hídfőállások bélyeges téglái Valeriában - The brick temples of the late Roman bridgehead fortresses in the province of Valeria. In: A. Gaál (Ed.): Pannonian research. Lectures at the memorial conference for Sándor Soproni (Bölcske, October 7, 1998). Szekszárd 1999, pp. 53-68.
- ^ András Mócsy: Pannonia and the Roman army. Selected essays. Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3515061037 , p. 246.
- ↑ a b c d András Mócsy: A late Roman bank fortress in the Batschka? In: András Mócsy: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3515061037 , p. 242.
- ^ Zsolt Mráv : Az "előretolt helyőrség" - késő római kikötőerőd Dunakeszin. In: Dunakeszi helytörteneti szemle, December 2009. p. 4.
- ↑ András Mócsy: A late Roman bank fortress in the Batschka? In: András Mócsy: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3515061037 , p. 244.
- ↑ Zsolt Mráv: Archaeological research 2000–2001 in the area of the late Roman fortress of Göd-Bócsaújtelep (preliminary report) 2002. In: Communicationes archeologicae Hungariae. 2003, p. 101.
- ↑ Sarmatians. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 26, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-017734 X , p. 511.
- ↑ The official regulations on the website of the Serbian Office for Monument Protection ( Memento from October 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) on wayback (in Serbian).