Burgus Leányfalu

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Burgus Leányfalu
(Burgus Cirpi 2)
limes Pannonian Limes
section 4th
Dating (occupancy) Valentinian
until the end of the 4th / beginning of the 5th century
Type Burgus
size 16.12 × 16.25 m
Construction stone
State of preservation Foundation walls restored
place Leányfalu
Geographical location 47 ° 43 '1.7 "  N , 19 ° 5' 18.6"  E
height 110  m
Previous Dunabogdány Castle - Cirpi (north)
Burgus Tahitótfalu-Balhavár (northeast)
Subsequently Burgus Szentendre-Hunka (south)

The Burgus Leányfalu is a small Roman military site which , as a late antique residential and watchtower ( Burgus ), was responsible for the control of a section of the Danube in the Pannonian Limes ( Limes Pannonicus ) . The river formed the Roman frontier in large sections. The remains of the facility that have been excavated and can be visited are located in the municipality of Leányfalu (German girls' village ) in Pest County , Hungary , near the main road to Budapest , on the west bank of the western arm of the Danube.

location

The Limes Pannonicus on the Pilis Mountains

The Burgus of Leányfalu was built on the territory of the Pannonian province of Valeria, which was established in the 4th century AD, near the western bank of the western arm of the Danube, which rises to the Pilis Mountains . To the north the Dóra brook flows down to the Danube, in this direction, as well as with a view to the south, the Burgi could be seen along the western arm. A connection was also possible with the stations on the Danube Island Szentendrei (Sankt-Andrä-Insel) , which lay in the northeast and southeast of Leányfalu. At the Burgus there was an important border and military road that followed the Danube to Aquincum ( Budapest ) with its legionary camp.

Research history

The first extensive uncovering took place in 1915 under the archeology pioneer Valentin Kuzsinszky (1864–1938), whereby the historical layers of deposits were destroyed unseen. A subsequent excavation followed in 1963 under the direction of the archaeologist Sándor Soproni (1926–1995). Andreas Alföldi (1895–1981) had previously examined the ceramics found in 1915. The entire ceramic found material was first published in full in 1991 by Katalin Ottományi . The structural remains uncovered during the excavation were partially reconstructed in 1965 according to the plans by Ágnes Vladár. Ottományi became active locally in 2007. At that time, an emergency excavation took place in the area, during which a burial place came to light. In 2012, as part of a new construction of the adjoining petrol station, the Burgus area was completely renovated, which included a newly laid out gravel path with trees and a new display board. A hill that was built before this work and that was raised in front of the southern entrance allows a good view of the ancient site.

Building history

The Burgus after the excavations of Sopronis
View from the southwest
View from the south
Castle entrance

As the finds make clear, the small fortification was evidently built as part of the extensive border security program under the Pannonia-born Emperor Valentinian I (364–375), which he launched after devastating Germanic invasions on the Rhine and Danube. The center of the complex was a mighty, rectangular tower with internal dimensions 16.12 × 16.25 meters, the rising walls of which were 1.6 meters thick, while the foundation walls varied between 1.75 and 1.9 meters. This defense and residential tower stood in the middle of a 32.5 × 32.5 meter wide courtyard, which was bordered by a 0.7 meter thick wall. However, its gate and the system of ditches surrounding this wall could not be explored. In order to be able to support the individual floors and the large roof, four stone support pillars were erected in the interior of the tower in a square to each other. The entrance was found on the south side, the east side faced the enemy. The approach to the stairs to the upper floors could be exposed on the southwest wall. Soproni was able to prove that the upper floors must have been built using truss technology based on wall recesses for load-bearing beams.

The complex, shown in quarry stone masonry ( Opus incertum ) , belongs to a number of other well-known and structurally identical late Roman Burgi. In Pannonia, these include the Danube watchtower in Budakalász-Lupa csárda further south and perhaps even the remains of construction uncovered around 60 km east of the Limes in the Hatvan district . In Switzerland, near the Stelli near Wallbach and on the Mösian Limes, very similar soil monuments could be examined. Based on the finds, Soproni assumed that the fortification of Leányfalu existed at least until the end of the 4th century, possibly even into the early 5th century, and then went down in a conflagration. Barbarian mercenaries, so-called Foederati , are accepted as the occupation, and they were often responsible for border security in the late and end of the Limes. Christians could also have been among them in Leányfalu.

Finds

In addition to worn coins from the 4th century, some important finds were made on this military site.

Ceramics

The finds on the tower include glazed, smoothed late Roman ceramics as well as ceramics of the barbarian type made without a turntable. During its subsequent excavation in 1963, Soproni came across the already disturbed layers of the previous excavation, from which the find material had already been removed. Nevertheless, it was also able to recover some important pottery items. The smooth-decorated ceramics from Leányfalu differs from the pieces from the late Roman distillery at the small fort Pilismarót-Malompatak, in particular in the clay used, the shape and parts of the decoration. The decoration with its wavy lines and indented polka dots is very rare and was found, for example, at the Danube fort Intercisa to the south and in the Slovakian Barbaricum . Without knowledge of the former layers, it is not possible to determine, for example, whether the lattice pattern ceramic that was also found comes from the same layer as the provincial Roman ceramic that was found, i.e. was used at the same time.

The fundamental difficulties are that a more precise dating of the late Roman smoothed ceramics is still not possible, since their early production began in the first half of the 4th century. Only found objects uncovered in known layers and contexts allow a more precise assignment. The theories about smoothed ceramics today are diverse and very controversial. Earlier works, such as that of Herbert Mitscha-Märheim , in which it was still referred to as pure so-called Foederatenkeramik , are considered outdated.

The many faulty and deformed ceramic pieces that were found have repeatedly fed the assumption that there was a late Roman distillery in Leányfalu. The material from there, but also from Pilismarót-Malompatak, shows how well the barbarians succeeded in producing high-quality imitations of late Roman ceramics.

Brick stamp

The brick stamps of Frigeridus dux were significantly more important for determining the exact age of the complex . As found, among other things, from watchtowers between Visegrád – Gizellamajor and the Visegrád – Sibrik fort , Frigeridus was apparently responsible for the defense of the province of Valeria from 371 as Dux Valeriae ripensis . The abbreviation AP VALEN was pressed on other bricks from Leányfalu , the symbol of the tribune Valentinus, who was serving at the same time as Frigeridus in Valeria.

Spolia

Several fragments of older Roman monuments from the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries were walled up in the watchtower as building material. This also included epigraphic evidence . The most important legacy is a complete, large inscription tablet, which was found as Tabula ansata with remains of the red painting in the carved letters during the excavations in 1963 in the northeast corner of the tower. The honorary inscription made of limestone dates back to 195 AD and names a Cohors I milliaria Aurelia Antonina Surorum ("1st Syrian double cohort Aurelia Antonina") known only from this text . Part of the cohort name in this inscription, Antonina Surorum , was changed to Antoniniana nova Severiana at the time of Emperor Severus Alexander (222-235) . The dedication of the field sign holder Marcus Aurelius Priscus, the Cohors I milliaria nova Severiana Surorum sagittaria , was used by third parties for the construction of the Leányfalu chapel, which was apparently partly built from the material of the Burgus. The Cohors I milliaria Aurelia Antoniniana nova Severiana (=  Cohors I milliaria nova Severiana Surorum sagittaria =  Cohors I nova Severiana Surorum sagittaria ) named on the inscriptions was stationed in the fort in Szentendre to the south . Another stone tells of a Beneficiarius consularis of the Legio II Adiutrix (2nd Legion Adiutrix), which had its headquarters in the legion camp Castra Aquincum (Budapest). The Beneficiarius consularis was the highest rank that a legionary soldier could achieve among the beneficiaries . Another Spolie was originally built as an altar in honor of Emperor Caracalla (211-217). It is believed that all of these older Roman fragments for the construction of the tower were brought from the nearby, south-lying cohort fort Constantia, which was originally founded under the name Ulcisia Castra .

Lost property

The stones from Leányfalu came to the Aquincum Museum in Budapest before the Second World War . After the war they were transferred to a branch of the Hungarian National Museum, the Károly Ferenczy Museum in Szentendre , founded in 1951 . The stones recovered during the excavation in 1915 were partially lost in the Second World War. A number of stones from Aquincum and probably also from Intercisa were in a private collection of the Villa Pekár in Leányfalu, which have since been kept by the local Roman Catholic parish. A pastor from this office acquired other stones from the area for this collection.

Monument protection

The monuments of Hungary are protected under the Act No. LXIV of 2001 by being entered in the register of monuments. The Burgus Leányfalu as well as all other Limes facilities belong to the nationally valuable cultural property as archaeological sites according to § 3.1. According to § 2.1, all finds are state property, regardless of where they are found. Violations of the export regulations are considered a criminal offense or a crime and are punished with imprisonment for up to three years.

See also

literature

  • Jenő Fitz (Ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary (= Bulletin du musée roi Saint Etienne. Series A, Volume 22). Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, Székesfehérvár 1976.
  • Katalin Ottományi : Késő római kerámia a leányfalui őrtoronyból. (The pottery from Burgus in Leányfalu.) In: Studia Comitatensia 22/2 (1991) pp. 5–144.
  • Sándor Soproni : The last decades of the Pannonian Limes . Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30453-2 .
  • Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 .
  • Zsolt Visy : 13. Leányfalu - Római őrtorony. In: Definition, Description and Mapping of Limes Samples. CE Project "Danube Limes - UNESCO World Heritage" 1CE079P4. Budapest 2010. pp. 38-39.
  • Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003. ISBN 9630579804 . P. 55.
  • Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 . Pp. 76-77.

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Endre Tóth : Karpen in the province of Valeria. On the question of late Roman smooth ceramics in Transdanubia. In: Communicationes archeologicae Hungariae . 2005, p. 382.
  2. ^ Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3806204888 , pp. 76-77; here: p. 76.
  3. ↑ Julius Gyula Hajnóczi, Ferenc redo: Pannonia Hungarica Antiqua. Archaeolingua, 1998. ISBN 9638046112 . P. 39.
  4. ^ Frontiers of the Roman Empire - Ripa Pannonica in Hungary (RPH), Nomination Statement. Vol. 2, National Office of Cultural Heritage, Budapest 2011, p. 185.
  5. ↑ a b c Jenő Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary . Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976, p. 70.
  6. ^ Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003. ISBN 9630579804 . P. 55.
  7. ↑ a b Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 , p. 65.
  8. ↑ a b c Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 , p. 66.
  9. ^ András Mócsy : The late Roman fortress and the burial ground of Tokod. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1981, ISBN 9630523752 , p. 86 (in Hungarian); István Bóna: The Empire of the Huns . Corvina, Budapest 1991 (= Theiss, Stuttgart 1991), ISBN 963-13-3356-6 , p. 263.
  10. ↑ Katalin Ottományi : Késő római besimított kerámia Nagykanizsán. In: Zalai Gyűjtemény 18, 1982–83. Pp. 45-58.
  11. ↑ Friderika Horváth : Comments on the late antique ceramic material from the fortress of Keszthely-Fenékpuszta - first results . Workshop Leipzig, 8.-9. February 2008. Archaeological Institute of the UAdW.
  12. ↑ Herbert Mitscha-Märheim: Dark centuries of golden traces (The Migration Period in Austria). Wollzeilen, Vienna 1963.
  13. ↑ Károly Mesterházy: A group of graves with a north-south entombment in the Gepid cemetery of Biharkeresztes-Ártánd-Nagyfarkasdomb. In: Acta Archaeologica 60, 2009, pp. 73-95.
  14. ↑ Limes between the Visegrád – Gizellamajor fort and the Visegrád – Sibrik fort
  15. ↑ János Szilágyi : Inscriptiones tegularum Pannonicarum . Dissertationes pannonica 2. Budapest 1933, pp. 53–58, plate XXVIII.
  16. ↑ Lászlo Barkóczi, Sándor Soproni: The Roman inscriptions of Hungary 3rd Brigetio (continued) and the Limes route at the Danube Bend. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1981. ISBN 963-05-2374-4 , No. 840.
  17. ↑ a b CIL 3, 10581 .
  18. ↑ AE 1982, 0081 .
  19. ↑ Lászlo Barkóczi, Sándor Soproni: The Roman inscriptions of Hungary 3rd Brigetio (continued) and the Limes route at the Danube Bend. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1981. ISBN 963-05-2374-4 , No. 853.
  20. ↑ Lászlo Barkóczi, Sándor Soproni: The Roman inscriptions of Hungary 3rd Brigetio (continued) and the Limes route at the Danube Bend. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1981. ISBN 963-05-2374-4 , No. 848.
  21. ^ Joachim Ott: The Beneficiarier. Steiner, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3515066608 , p. 30.
  22. ↑ Lászlo Barkóczi, Sándor Soproni: The Roman inscriptions of Hungary 3rd Brigetio (continued) and the Limes route at the Danube Bend. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1981. ISBN 963-05-2374-4 , No. 841.
  23. ^ Sándor Soproni, László Barkóczi: Brigetio (continuation) and the Limes route on the Danube Bend. The Roman inscriptions of Hungary. (RIU). 3. Delivery. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1981. ISBN 963-05-2374-4 . P. 169.