Burgus Pilismarót-Malompatak

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Burgus Pilismarót-Malompatak (Burgus Solva 19)
limes	Pannonian Limes
section	3
Dating (occupancy)	Valentine until around 425 AD
Type	Burgus
size	29.70 x 37.40 m
Construction	stone
State of preservation	Remains visible in the area
place	Pilismarót
Geographical location	47 ° 47 '26.1 "  N , 18 ° 54' 6.2"  E
height	102  m
Previous	Burgus Szob (north-north-west) Kastell Esztergom-Hideglelőskereszt (north-west)
Subsequently	Castra ad Herculem (southwest)

The Limes Pannonicus on the Pilis Mountains

The small fort based on research by S. Soproni.

The Burgus Pilismarót-Malompatak , German Pilismarót-Mühlenbach , located directly on the banks of the Danube , is still visible in the area today. As a late Roman military post , he was responsible for monitoring a section of the Danube in the Pannonian Limes ( Limes Pannonicus ) . The river formed the Roman frontier in large sections. Today the complex, which has become famous for its ceramic finds from late antiquity, is located in the district of Pilismarót in Komárom-Esztergom County in Hungary .

Location and research history

The small fortification is located shortly after the start of a large Danube loop that extends southwards on the west bank of the river. In their back the Pilis Mountains rise to the west and south . The present-day village of Pilismarót is a little to the southwest. Here, right on the valley floor of the mountains, was the much larger auxiliary fort Castra ad Herculem . Today there is a settlement of weekend houses north of the small complex. With Castra ad Herculem Pilismarót-Malompatak was connected by an ancient road. The Pannonian Danube Limes is often called "Ripa" (Latin for "bank") in Hungarian research.

The Danube fortification was completely excavated and explored by Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) in 1959.

Building history

During the reign of Emperor Valentinian I (364-375), who was born in Pannonia , the castle Ad Herculem , which probably dates back to the late 3rd century, was occupied by one unit, Auxilia (infantry auxiliaries) and Equites (cavalry) is, a small, 29.70 × 37.40 meter, rectangular fortress directly in front of the Danube. This was part of an extensive building program that the emperor launched after devastating German invasions. These included larger and smaller fortifications ( castra et castella ) along the imperial borders on the Rhine and Danube. They originated from 369 on the Upper Rhine, on the long-distance connection Brigantium ( Bregenz ) - Cambodunum ( Kempten ) - Caelius Mons ( Kellmünz ) and on the upper and middle Danube. The safety fence of the square just in north-south direction applied Burgus is from a 1.8 to 2.3 meters deep trench surrounding, the circulated the wall at a distance from 10.5 to 13.5 meters and on the south side, near its southwest corner. This trench was washed away by the Danube with parts of the Burgus in the east. There was a small, door-sized inlet in the defensive wall almost across from the moat. The center of the fortress was dominated by a mighty square tower with internal dimensions 12.35 × 12.25 meters, the 1.4 meter thick foundation walls of which could be excavated. Its entrance was at ground level on the west side. The defensive wall was open in the middle on its east side. An extension emerged here, which enclosed a heated residential building with its enclosure, of which three rooms were still preserved. The Danube had washed away the rest.

Inside the Burgus, a small building erected on the defensive wall was uncovered on the northwest corner, which had two rooms. The excavator identified it as a bath. The western room (2.37 × 2.32 meters) could not be heated. This room was entered in the south through an entrance approximately 1.42 meters wide. The second room (2.25 × 3.92 meters), which can be heated by means of a hypocaust system , was then reached; the eastern part was the prefurnium . The floor of the boiler room was about 0.70 m below today's floor level. The water was probably supplied by an iron pipe that was fed through a well to the east of the bathing building.

In the 9th century the weir system was possibly so badly dilapidated that it no longer offered an incentive for repopulation.

Found good

In addition to militaria, such as a sheet metal brooch, coins from Emperor Constantine II (337–360), Valentinian I (2 pieces) and Gratian (367–383) were found as finds . In addition, the brick stamps of Frigeridus dux and the tribunes Terentianus and Olimpus , which are interesting for a temporal classification, were discovered. Finds, for example from two burgi between Pilismarót and the Visegrád – Sibrik fort, suggest that Frigeridus assumed the office of Dux Valeriae ripensis in the province of Valeria between 371 and 373 AD .

Another important find was smoothed post-Valentine ceramics in association with glazed goods. Both types of ceramics come from two late, round kilns, which were located in the northern part of the small fort and were produced at the same time after Soproni. The common occurrence of smoothed and glazed pieces is characteristic of many late Roman settlements and burial grounds in Hungary. While the smoothing ceramics documented in Pilismarót can clearly be assigned to the late period, the general discussions about the exact age of the smoothed-decorated goods are still ongoing, as these products as a whole date back to the first half of the 4th century. The difference between the early and late pieces can be identified by their origins. At the beginning there was still provincial Roman shapes, the subsequent pieces, from 430/435, on the other hand, have their own signature in decor and shape, the origin of which is still unknown. Several peoples in a very large cultural area took up the fashion of smoothed ceramics in the late Roman period from the 4th to the 5th century. Therefore, today the theories about smoothed ceramics are diverse and very controversial. Earlier works, such as that by Herbert Mitscha-Märheim , which still speak of pure so-called Foederatenkeramik , are considered outdated. Thus the thought, repeated several times in the past, that Germanic foederati operated the kilns in Pilismarót-Mühlenbach, is at least controversial. Research mostly describes Germanic mercenaries as Foederati , who were often responsible for border security in the late and end of the Limes. With the finds, however, it can be proven that around 420 soldiers still lived in the small fort.

Monument protection

The monuments of Hungary are protected under the Act No. LXIV of 2001 by being entered in the register of monuments. The State Office for Cultural Heritage (Kulturális Örökségvédelmi Hivatal; KÖH) in Budapest is responsible. The Burgus Pilismarót-Malompatak 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

• List of Limes forts in Hungary

literature

• Ulrich Brandl: Card 6: Brick stamp distribution of the Legio II Adiutrix. In: Investigations into the brick temples of Roman legions in the north-western provinces of the Imperium Romanum. Catalog of the Julius B. Fritzemeier Collection. P. 68. No. 7.
• István Erdélyi , Ágnes Salamon : Report on the excavations in Pilismarót, Öregek-dülő (1973–1974). In: Communications from the Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. 10/11, 1980/1981, pp. 147-161.
• 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 : A pottery workshop of late Roman ceramics with smooth decoration in Pilismarót-Malompatak . In: Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungariae 48, 1996, pp. 71-133.
• Manfred Philipp: Fort baths in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire , dissertation, text volume I, Innsbruck 1999, p. 235.
• Sándor Soproni: The last decades of the Pannonian Limes . CH Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30453-2 .
• Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akademiai Kiado. Budapest 1978. ISBN 9-6305130-7-2 .
• Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 .

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Sándor Soproni: The last decades of the Pannonian Limes . CH Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30453-2 , p. 29.
2. ^ Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akademiai Kiado. Budapest 1978. ISBN 9-6305130-7-2 . P. 38.
3. ^ Ágnes Sós: The Slavic population of western Hungary in the 9th century. CH Beck Verlag, Munich 1973, ISBN 3-406-00492-X . P. 156.
4. ^ Sándor Soproni: The last decades of the Pannonian Limes . CH Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30453-2 , p. 62.
5. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum, IN PARTIBUS OCCIDENTIS, XXXIII
6. ^ 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.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Friderika Horváth : Comments on the late antique ceramic material from the fortress of Keszthely-Fenékpuszta - first results . Workshop Leipzig, 8.-9.2.2008. Archaeological Institute of the UAdW.
8. ↑ Katalin Ottományi : Késő római besimított kerámia Nagykanizsán. In: Zalai Gyűjtemény No. 18, 1982-83. Pp. 45-58. (in Hungarian)
9. ↑ Herbert Mitscha-Märheim: Dark centuries of golden traces (The Migration Period in Austria). Wollzeilen publishing house, Vienna 1963.
10. ↑ ^{a b} Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988. ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 . P. 71.
11. ↑ See: Kulturális Örökségvédelmi Hivatal ( Memento of the original of February 13, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.