Burgus Tahitótfalu-Balhavár

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Burgus Tahitótfalu-Balhavár
(Burgus Cirpi 5)
limes Pannonian Limes
section 3
Dating (occupancy) valentine ( Frigeridus dux)?
Type Ländeburgus
Construction stone
State of preservation Above ground nothing is visible except rubble
place Tahitótfalu
Geographical location 47 ° 45 '44.9 "  N , 19 ° 7' 35.5"  E
height 102  m
Previous Dunabogdány Castle - Cirpi (northwest)
Burgus Verőcemaros-Dunamező (northwest)
Subsequently Burgus Leányfalu (southwest)
Burgus Szigetmonostor-Horány (south)
Burgus Dunakeszi (south)

The Burgus Tahitótfalu-Balhavár , more rarely Tahitótfalu-Bolhavár , is a well-known former Roman military camp which, as a late antique country castle , secured the surveillance of a Danube crossing at the Pannonian Limes ( Limes Pannonicus ) . The river formed the Roman frontier in large sections. The facility was located on the western bank of the Hungarian Danube island Szentendrei (St. Andrä) in the Balhavár (Flohburg) corridor in the Pest county belonging to the municipality of Tahitótfalu .

location

Pannonia with its upstream wall system

The bridgehead-like area was created on the Danube island of St. Andrä, which already existed in ancient times. From here, not only the nearby cohort fort Cirpi , located northwest on the land side , to which a road led, could be seen, but also a number of watchtowers and other military stations that were lined up here on the banks of the Danube. The flat island and the clearly visible east bank of the Danube with its partly swampy, extensive lowland were advantageous for this location. Hungarian research has long suspected that there must have been another country castle on the side of the river opposite the Tahitótfalu-Balhavár Burgus, near today's city of Vác , as demonstrated, for example, in the south of the island between the castles Castra Constania and Göd-Bócsaújtelep were.

The Limes Pannonicus on the Pilis Mountains

Research history

The knowledge of the facility built directly on the banks of the Danube was apparently never completely lost, as the field name “Flohburg” suggests. Over the years, however, the side erosion of the river has partially undercut and eroded the foundation walls of the entire complex. The place has been visited by scientists since the 19th century. The Hungarian archeology pioneer Flóris Rómer (1815–1889) was also there, as was Valentin Kuzsinszky (1864–1938), the first excavator of Aquincum in 1913 . It was also Kuzsinszky who carried out the first measurements and photographed important components in 1923. When the archaeologist Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) checked this information on site in 1953, he came to completely different results. Since no excavations have taken place so far, the research is dependent on surface finds and findings.

The ancient foundations are now largely protected from weathering by a small mound of earth and are close to an unpaved path on the sealed off area of ​​the capital's waterworks. They can be viewed with a special permit.

Building history

The floor plan determined during the investigation.
The better preserved state castle of Veröcemaros-Dunamezö shows an identical basic concept as the complex of Tahitótfalu-Balhavár.
Brick stamp of Dux Valeria Frigeridus

The interior of the central residential and watchtower of the Ländeburgus has a length of 19.40 meters (Soproni 1953: 18.90 meters). The defensive walls adjoining at right angles on the two opposite flanks of this central building were 12 and 15 meters long. At each of the outer ends there was a corner tower. Rómer could still see the small southeast corner tower intact and determined it to be 4.42 meters in diameter without digging. The north-west tower, however, was already destroyed in its time. The wall thickness was 1.80 meters (Soproni 1953: 2.50 meters).

Only sparse archaeological information is available about the Danube-side expansion of the Ländeburgi, as the erosion caused by the river for over one and a half millennia has removed almost all traces. For a long time, scientific research believed that the fortified ship berths enclosed by defensive walls were open to the Danube. This idea could be corrected using old traditions and drawings. So today the image of a facility that was also closed on the river side and only had a special entrance or a larger opening there is spreading. Possibly to pull ships ashore to protect them from enemy attacks, as the classical philologist Wilhelm Schleiermacher (1904–1977) assumed.

The facility was built in the course of the late antique expansion of the Limes facilities and is obviously connected to the large rampart system. This security system for the eastern flank of the Pannonian provinces, consisting of several earth walls, some of which were staggered one behind the other, not only protected the Roman allies living there, the Sarmatic tribe of the Jazyans , but also formed a buffer zone against possible attackers. The Hungarian archaeologist Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) also called this wall the Limes Sarmatiae . The on the east bank of Szentendre, just north of Budapest early and irregularly running ramparts extend as far east into the Great Hungarian Plain in and bend there, following exactly the North-South direction, to the south from to at Viminacium on Iron Gate again to hit the Limes. Speculations about Baubeen B of the wall system range from the time of Emperor Diocletian (284–305) to the reign of Constantine (307–337). The abandonment of the Limes Sarmatiae is associated with the devastating Roman defeat at Hadrianopolis in 378. And the establishment of the Burgus Tahitótfalu-Balhavár is viewed differently by science. In addition to a foundation under Diocletian, a later establishment under Constantius II (337–361) is also being considered. The finds from the time of Emperor Valentinian I (364-375) were assigned to a renovation or conversion in the past.

Finds

The archaeologist János Szilágyi (1907–1988) recovered the first reading pieces in 1950 in the form of brick stamps from the rubble of the fortification. These stamps are the main evidence of the complex to this day and name the tribune Valentinus, the centurions Luppianus and Lupus as well as Bessula. With the exception of the Bessula stamp, all of the inscriptions can be easily assigned to the time of Valentinian I. Valentinus, Luppianus and Lupus were active at the same time as the aristocratic commander-in-chief Frigeridus in the province of Valeria, to which this Burgus belonged. Finds, for example from watchtowers between Visegrád – Gizellamajor and the fort Visegrád – Sibrik suggest that Frigeridus took over the office of Dux Valeriae ripensis in the province in 371 .

Limes course from Burgus Tahitótfalu-Balhavár to Burgus Szigetmonostor-Horány

The route between these two Ländeburgi runs along the eastern edge of the island of Szentendrei. In this 12 to 13 kilometer long area, only a single Burgus has so far been found, which was relatively close to the Ländeburgus Szigetmonostor-Hórany.

Traces of the Limes structures between Tahitótfalu and Horány
route Name / place Description / condition
3 Szigetmonostor ferry from Göd (Burgus Cirpi 6) The site, where there was a monastery in the Middle Ages, was visited as early as 1931 by the archaeologist József Csalog (1908–1978). He was followed in 1941 by Árpád Bottyán. Csalog reported somewhat contradictingly that he found many Roman and medieval plates (stamped medieval pottery and a Roman coin). In the archive of the Hungarian National Museum, however, only a very poorly preserved Hadrian coin and a medieval glass fragment are inventoried by Csalog's investigation . Bottyán saw no more building remains at this point, not to mention finds. Soproni, on the other hand, apparently struck gold in 1959. He came across a largely destroyed part of the tower, which could be located by mortar residues, stones and bricks. In the layers of the steep bank embankment, however, he was unable to make out any clues as to when this post was built. All that remained was the already discovered coin. Soproni classified the site as possibly Valentine. At least, if you take most of the Burgi on the Hungarian Danube Limes as a comparison, it should not have originated before Emperor Valentinian I. When the archaeologist Zsuzsa Lovag examined the place again in 1989, she did not find any traces of Roman construction either, but only found medieval finds. The archaeologist Gábor Varga therefore doubted the result of Soproni's investigations. In his opinion, the traces of construction could be one of the medieval remains expected here.
4th Szigetmonostor-Horány (Burgus Ulcisia 8) Further south followed the Ländeburgus Szigetmonostor-Horány and the Ländeburgus Dunakeszi (Burgus Ulcisia 9)

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 Tahitótfalu-Balhavár 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.
  • Bálint (Valentin) Kuzsinszky : A római határvédelem és a Balhavári erőd. (The Roman border guard and the fortress of Balhavár.) In: A Magyar Régészeti Társulat. Évkönyve 1. 1920. pp. 19–29 (in Hungarian).
  • Zsolt Mráv : On the dating of the late Roman ship lands on the border of the province of Valeria ripensis. In: Ádám Szabó , Endre Tóth (ed.): Bölcske. Roman inscriptions and finds. Hungarian National Museum, Budapest 2003. pp. 33–50.
  • Sándor Soproni : The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 .
  • Zsolt Visy : 12. Tahitótfalu - Bolhavár. In: Definition, Description and Mapping of Limes Samples. CE Project "Danube Limes - UNESCO World Heritage" 1CE079P4. Budapest 2010. pp. 36-37.
  • Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 .
  • Éva Maróti : A Roman building near Szigetmonostor-Horóny. In: Pannonica provincialia et Archaeologica. Festschrift for Jenő Fitz. Hungarian National Museum, Budapest 2003. pp. 203–231.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Jenő Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary . Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976, p. 73.
  2. ↑ a b Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1978, ISBN 9630513072 , p. 75.
  3. ^ Yearbook of the German Archaeological Institute . Vol. 40. Verlag Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1926, p. 288.
  4. ↑ a b c András Mócsy : The late Roman ship landing in Contra Florentiam. In: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1992. ISBN 3515061037 . P. 230.
  5. ↑ a b 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.
  6. ^ Zsolt Visy: Definition, Description and Mapping of Limes Samples. CE Project "Danube Limes - UNESCO World Heritage" 1CE079P4. Budapest 2010. p. 36.
  7. ↑ a b c Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003. ISBN 9630579804 . P. 55.
  8. ^ Zsolt Mráv: Az "előretolt helyőrség" - késő római kikötőerőd Dunakeszin. In: Dunakeszi helytörteneti szemle, December 2009. p. 5.
  9. ^ Sándor Soproni: Limes Sarmatiae. In: A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve 2/1969. Szeged, 1969, pp. 117-133.
  10. ^ Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3806204888 . Pp. 23-25.
  11. ↑ János Szilágyi: Inscriptiones tegularum Pannonicarum . DissPann II. Budapest, 1933, plate XXVIII, pp. 53-58.
  12. ↑ Notitia Dignitatum, IN PARTIBUS OCCIDENTIS, XXXIII
  13. ↑ Limes between the Visegrád – Gizellamajor fort and the Visegrád – Sibrik fort
  14. ↑ Route = numbering follows Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary (Theiss 1988) and Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. (Akadémiai Kiadó 2003)
  15. ^ Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről . In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174; here pp. 151–152.
  16. ↑ a b Gábor Varga: A Szentendrei-sziget római kori erődítettségéről . In: Archaeologiai Értesítő 137 (2012), pp. 145–174; here p. 153.
  17. ↑ Ádám Szabó , Endre Tóth (ed.): Bölcske. Roman inscriptions and finds. Volume 2 of Libelli archaeologici . Hungarian National Museum, Budapest 2003. p. 40.
  18. ↑ Burgus Ulcisia 8 at 47 ° 39 '30.26 "  N , 19 ° 6' 44.74"  O .
  19. ↑ At 47 ° 39 '32.98 "  N , 19 ° 7' 12.06"  O .