Burgus versus Florentiam

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Burgus contra Florentiam
(Burgus Lugio 1)
Alternative name The name Burgus contra Florentiam is contested by Zsolt Visy at this location.
limes Pannonian Limes
section 8th
Dating (occupancy) Valentine ( Frigeridus or Terentius dux )?
Type Ländeburgus
unit Equites sagittarii
size 16 × 22 m ( core plant )
Construction stone
State of preservation When the water level is low, the foundations of the southern corner tower can still be seen in the sand of the bank.
place Dunafalva
Geographical location 46 ° 5 '16.5 "  N , 18 ° 46' 8.2"  E
height 84  m
Previous Dunaszekcső Castle ( Lugio / Florentiam) (west)
Subsequently Mohács-Kölked Castle ( Altinum ) (southwest)
The location of the Ländeburgus on the Danube Limes.

The Burgus contra Florentiam was a late antique Roman country castle , whose crew secured a river crossing on the Pannonian Danube Limes ( Limes Pannonicus ) . His remains are in the municipality of the village of Dunafalva (dt. Salasche, Seetschke ) in Bács-Kiskun County in Hungary . The plant was built on the eastern bank of the river in the area of ​​the Sarmatian Barbaricum . The river marked the Roman border in large sections. On the other bank, directly opposite the Burgus, was the strategically important Florentia Castle on a hill dominating the flat land . The ancient name of the Ländeburgus is controversial today.

location

In the foreground is the Lugio / Florentia fort built on a mighty loess base ; on the opposite side of the river, in the small clearing of the bank, was the Ländeburgus
The Dunafalva landing stage after the inventory by András Mócsy in 1958.
Attempt to reconstruct the Valentinian Ländeburgus. A surrounding trench has not yet been found in such fortifications in Hungary.

The Burgus, founded on the east bank of the Danube, is located on the large island of Mohács , a stretch of land criss-crossed by many larger and smaller branches of the Danube, which is described in the travelogues of the 19th century as a swampy, annually flooded area and to this day as a gem of Ornithology applies. The hydrological conditions are also made clear by the southern German name of Mohác - Moosach . Due to the important road connection to Dacia, there has been a river crossing at this point since Middle Roman times. The Burgus crew was in close contact with the fort garrison on the western bank. Since their fortifications were on a prominent hill, from there one had a good view of the land of the Sarmatian Jazyans , who were actually allies of the Romans, but who were always ready to rebel against them. An important trade route led via Dunafalva through Sarmatia via the Marostal to Dacia, as illustrated by a holy stone of a Roman customs officer found in Szeged , the ancient Partiscum , in the middle of the Barbaricum .

Naming

The name of the bridgehead and its occupation unit is known from the Notitia dignitatum , a late antique state manual (… equites sagittarii altino, nunc in burgo contra Florentiam…) , but the correct geographical reference point was missing for a long time. Due to the presumed route of the trade route passing here, scientists suspected a Roman fortification opposite the well-known Danube fort of Lugio as early as the 19th century, but this assumption could not be proven without appropriate excavations. In 1888 the archaeologist and Limes researcher Robert Fröhlich (1844-1894) finally recognized the burgus contra Florentiam ("Burgus opposite Florentia") known from the Notitia Dignitatum in the remains of the building . However, since the name of the castle Lugio on the western bank, which was already known at the time, did not appear in this state handbook, instead only a Florentia was named in its place, the place must have been given a new name in late antiquity. Thus, in his opinion, the Burgus mentioned in the Notitia could only mean the ruin near Dunafalva, which had been examined shortly before. In the past, Zsolt Visy had also followed the general opinion that Dunafalva was to be equated with the Burgus contra Florentiam , but later he revised his opinion and now assumes that the contra Florentiam refers to another, still unknown fort in the vicinity must be, since in the Notitia Dignitatum usually no Ländeburgi are listed.

Research history

Early observations

The remains of the south corner tower
The remains of the same tower when the water level is low.
The southern corner tower on the edge of the Danube (status 2007).
The tower from a different perspective (status 2007).

The Roman complex was long considered the remains of a presumed medieval "Church in honor of the angels" (ung. Angyalok temploma , lat. Templum angelorum ). According to a legend, the 20-year-old Bohemian-Hungarian King Ludwig II was supposed to be killed here after the catastrophic defeat for Hungary against the Turks in 1526 (Battle of Mohács) . In fact, several medieval graves were found in the vicinity of the ruins, with ornaments on robes, fragments of armor and sabers. In the 1970s, mass graves for around 15,000 people killed in this battle were discovered near Mohács. Before science became seriously interested in the Burgus, a large part of its stone material had already been stolen around 1800 for the construction of the Catholic parish church in the neighboring town.

The lawyer, art collector and patron Antal Horvath (1848–1912) was the first to research and document the remains of the ancient wall in 1885:

“The ruins are extensive, but only a small part has been exposed; some parts also extend into the Danube bed ... The walls are built of bricks, uncut stone blocks and worked stones of various sizes ... "

In addition, Horvath reported on found brick stamps , of which he could only read one correctly: COH (ors) VII BR (eucorum) - the 7th cohort of the Breuker . He also reports on an honorary inscription on a statue base that was built between 200 and 201 for Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211), which was walled up as a spoil in the late antique ship landing.

The next excavation took place under the direction of the ancient historian Alfred von Domaszewski (1856–1927) when he visited Hungary in the course of editing the supplement to CIL III . Unfortunately, only one reference from the author to CIL III 10278, an inscribed spoil from a statue base of Septimius Severus, is known about this work . The chronicler Pastor Mauritius Wosinsky (Hungarian: Mór Wosinszky) may have used the results of Domaszewski's excavations in his work on the early history of Tolna County , published in 1896 , as he was able to provide very precise information on this complex if a. writes that:

"... counting the parts lying in the water, the building is 85 m long and 59 m wide. The walls are 1.90-1.45 m thick. Inside the building, five transverse walls run in a north-south direction. "

Since the landowners used the largely intact walls as a quarry at that time, a total of six more spoils with inscriptions are said to have come to light, of which only three could be saved from disappearance. In addition to the two already known of Septimius Severus, a statue base from the time of Emperor Caracalla (211-217) was added. Another unpublished Roman inscription from the period of reign of Emperor Mark Aurel (161–180), originating from the antique ship landing stage, was described by the first excavator of Aquincum, Valentin Kuzsinszky (1864–1938), in the 2nd volume of the Lexicon of Antiquity published in 1902 , here the Cohors VII Breucorum was mentioned again.

20-21 century

In the 20th century, too, the complex was repeatedly ransacked and looted. So were z. B. 1927 was used for the construction of the community center stones. At the same time, scientific research progressed very slowly. It was only with the publication of two newly discovered late antique brick temples by the archaeologist János Szilágyi (1907–1988) that research into the ship's landing was advanced, but it was not until 1950 that the director of the elementary school in Dunaszekcső, Ferenc Halász, was the most extensive to this day Report on contra Florentiam at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest . His documentation made far more known about the complex than could be deduced from the literature published up to then and the remains of the wall that are still preserved today.

After the catastrophic floods of the spring of 1956, the residents of the area began to remove more blocks of the Burgus wall as material for the reconstruction of their houses. Therefore, in April 1956, the Museum of Pécs ordered Pál Lakatos to Dunafalva to record the damage and prevent further destruction. There were still some scholars who continued to see the building as a medieval church. In 1958, the archaeologist, ancient historian and epigraphist András Mócsy (1929–1987) became aware of the ancient shipyard of Dunafalva and carried out some investigations on the rubble on site. A complete picture of the building could no longer be determined after the previous devastation. The rear part of the Ländeburgus was buried in the bank. Almost all of the masonry was missing from the central residential and watchtower; only the two laterally adjoining tower foundations could still be largely documented. Despite these difficulties, Mócsy was able to reproduce a complete reconstruction of the floor plan on paper with the help of older publications and documents and to assign the building typologically. From 1958 until the early 21st century, the course of the Danube has largely pushed its way over the facility, undermining its remains. The first scientific excavation took place in 2008 under the direction of Zsolt Mráv .

Time position

The archaeologists Zsolt Mráv and Éva Maróti assign the Hungarian Ländeburgi on the basis of follow-up examinations as well as more recent research in Dunakeszi (2002) and Szigetmonostor-Horány (1995) to the Valentine era (364-375). Older research - so András Mócsy (1929–1987) - pleaded with contra Florentiam and other similar Burgi for an edification under Emperor Diocletian or Constantine the Great (306–337), while the archaeologist Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) was in this Question for the reign of Constantius II (337–361). Zsolt Visy, on the other hand, could imagine an origin under Diocletian or Constantius II. The building was used until the 430s and fell into disrepair after Pannonia was finally abandoned as a Roman province.

Building history

The construction of the late antique Dunafalva complex is almost identical to the Burgus Verőcemaros-Dunamező on the Danube Bend . Such Ländeburgi are otherwise only known from Germany . For example, there was a comparable fortification in Engers near Neuwied and another in Neckarau near Mannheim .

The 16 × 22 meter rectangular residential and watchtower, the core work of the fortification, was built using a combined construction technique of stones and bricks. Its broken walls were 3.50 meters thick in the area of ​​the foundations. Inside, Mócsy reconstructed two square pillar foundations arranged next to each other in the middle, as they were also found on the better preserved Ländeburgi of the same type. They once supported the rising construction with several stories and the heavy, tiled roof. The north-western long side of the central building followed the course of the Danube in front; from the two narrower flanks a 1.5 meter thick wall ran straight ahead to the north-east and south-west. At each end there was a square tower, which also had 1.5 meter thick walls. From these two towers, at right angles to the longitudinal walls, another, possibly crenellated, wall led towards the banks of the Danube, which - following the model of similar and much better preserved Ländeburgi - ended with additional towers.

The front, western part of the fortification, which protruded into the bank area of ​​the Danube, was undercut and destroyed over time by the side erosion after the Romans withdrew. How could still determine Halász, this section of the building was on a pile rust with horizontally located and perpendicular chosen, strong oak beams established Service. Mócsy also observed the horizontal and vertical bundles of rods used in the Roman foundation area, which were important for stabilizing the rising masonry. The archaeologist believed he could see from the preserved pile structures that of the two supposed towers built on the channel bank, at least one further wall section each buckled to the west and east over a certain length. In this way, a square inner courtyard would have been created, which the fence would have enclosed like tongs. Mócsy also received support from his younger colleague Zsolt Mráv. He re-examined the Burgus Dunakeszi and was able to determine that, with the help of old traditions and drawings, a more or less strong brick lock of the Burgus complex facing the river can actually be expected. Possibly there was only a gate or some other, larger opening in order to be able to pull ships ashore protected from enemy attacks, as the classical philologist Wilhelm Schleiermacher (1904–1977) assumed. Instead of these suspected tong walls, the wooden building remains could also indicate a continuous bank reinforcement in the area of ​​the jetty. In connection with the fortifications, Halász reports that the walls towards the Danube are said to have been 1.90 meters thick, but only 1.45 meters towards the south-east, although he was no longer able to examine the south-eastern part himself.

Troop

As the only one of the late antique ship lands in Hungary, the name of the troops in the Burgus contra Florentiam is also passed down through the Notitia dignitatum. In this case it concerns Equites sagittarii , a squadron of mounted archers, as they are known, for example, from the only 30 × 29 meter large burgus of the Upper Pannonian Danube fort Gerulata and from many other army locations of the empire. These units, which were only set up in the course of the army reforms of the late 3rd century, were mostly dug up from peoples who had specialized in dealing with this type of weapon technology. Soproni assumed that the troops lying in Dunafalva had been moved here from the southernmost fort in the province of Valeria, Altinum.

Finds

The finds from the Burgus of Dunafalva mainly included late antique ceramics and coins. In addition to the four inscription poles already mentioned, which most likely came from the opposite Florentia as a cheap building material , the brick stamps of the Cohors VII Breucorum civium Romanorum equitata mentioned by Horvath and Halász are also known. Bricks with this imprint may also have come to Dunafalva because of their secondary use.

Szilágyi also mentioned other stamps for the first time:

  • OF ARN VRSICINI MG and
  • OF ARN BONO MG .

In addition to this, Halász - according to his own interpretation - also knew the following stamps:

  • COH VII BR CR EQ ,
  • [OF] ARN MAXENTI A ... ,
  • OF ARN MAXENTI A NIN ,
  • OF AR BO [NO MG] ,
  • AEAM ... NRKI ,
  • TERENTIAN VX ,
  • ... AC ... and
  • ... DA ... .

He also pointed to a pan-relief that was used for a second time. Mócsy also mentions roof tiles with the stamp of Frigeridus Dux . This was commander-in-chief ( Dux Valeriae ripensis ) of the province of Valeria in the years 371-373 / 374, Contra Florentiam was on the southern border of Valeria .

The stamps found are typical of the brisk building activity under Emperor Constantius II and Valentinian I (364–375) on the Pannonian Limes. Another important finding was that many of the late antique stamps from Dunafalva could not be found at Florentia Castle . Some of these stamps, such as that of Frigeridus, can very likely be linked to CVs from other sources. The stamps of the so-called OF ARN group (uncertain resolution of the letters to: Officinae auxiliares ripenses ) can be dated to the time of the reign of Emperors Constantius II (337–361) and Valentinian. Since the stamp abbreviations AR , ARN and ARAN cannot be clearly explained for the time being, the previous translation suggestions are purely speculative.

According to the archaeologist Barnabás Lőrincz (1951–2012), the bricks of the aforementioned Maxentius can be assigned to the period between 351 and 354 AD. Other research results, which analyzed the brick stamps of Maxentius in the provinces of Pannonia I and Valeria as well as in the neighboring Barbaricum , place the occurrence of these stamps either at the end of the 50s of the 4th century or in the last years Valentinian I. Halász's reading of OF ARN MAXENTI A NIN is likely to be considered false. On the other hand, the stamps OF ARN MAXENTI A VIN are better known . The TERENTIAN VX stamp also poses some puzzles. Only one Terentius dux as the predecessor in office of Frigeridus and an almost simultaneous military tribune named Terentianus are known by name.

The sequence of letters in the fragment AEAM ... NRKI cannot be found on other Hungarian Limes buildings either. The first naming of the Magister Bonus, however, happened at the end of the era of Constantius II or also in the following Valentine era. The Magister figlinarum Ursicinus was only found in a few other provincial castles and fort sites, such as B. in Dunakeszi and Göd-Bócsaújtelep , in the other systems on the Danube Bend and the Danube island St. Andrä it does not occur at all.

Limes course between the Burgus contra Florentiam (Burgus Lugio 1) to the Mohács-Kölked fort

Traces of the military structures along the Limes Road and the Danube.
route Name / place Description / condition
8th Dunaszekcső, (Burgus Lugio 5) South of Dunaszekcső, on the west side of highway 56, the land rises to a plateau on the south bank of the Celenka brook. During a field inspection in 2001 , Zsolt Visy was able to identify around three ancient buildings within a radius of 150 meters on this slope as well as on its crest . The site contained many stones as well as roof tile and ceramic fragments. Similar finds came to light on the opposite side of the stream. Possibly a mansio (rest house and horse harnessing station) with a tower on the top was located here .
8th Dunaszekcső, (Burgus Lugio 6) Roman traces were found again around 500 meters south of the alleged tower site. Here, too, the area to the west of today's highway 56 was about 30 meters away on a higher area on a hill. During the aforementioned field inspection in 2001, a number of stones, broken bricks and ceramic shards were discovered there, which were scattered within a radius of 50 meters.
8th Bár , (Burgus Lugio 2) The first to suggest was the archaeologist Ferenc Fülep (1919–1986) to bring the scattered Roman finds from the street village of Bár on Landstrasse 56 in connection with a previously unknown watchtower. The finds from the village area include ceramics, iron objects and coins from the reigns of the emperors Philip Arabs (244–249) and Valens (364–378).
8th Mohács , (Burgus Lugio 3) The mountain ranges reaching as far as the town of Mohács replace a wide plain on which the Roman road runs in a straight direction to the south. It does not touch today's city center, but runs south of Mohács east of the modern country road and then bends slightly to the east to the Kölked Fort. Roman finds, including burials, have become known from the urban area of ​​Mohács. Apparently there was no fort here. The findings from Mohács also include a typical Germanic house, which could be dated based on its late Roman ceramics, and a grave that was discovered nearby. Due to the accumulation of finds in Rome, Fülep assumed that there might have been a watchtower in the old town near the Danube.
8th Mohács , (Burgus Lugio 4) On the basis of an aerial photo, Visy proposed to be able to see a watchtower in the south of Mohács on the west side of highway 56. The place is now immediately northwest of a roundabout in a field. At this roundabout, the country road becomes a bypass that leads past Mohács to the west. To the southeast of the presumed tower site, the Limesstrasse could be detected in its course to the nearby Mohács-Kölked fort . However, the field inspections carried out by Visy did not reveal any evidence of an archaeological site.
8th Kölked The area of ​​the Mohács-Kölked Fort is located south of Mohács.

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 Dunakeszi as well as all other Limes complexes 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. (= Az István Király Múzeum közleményei. Series A, Volume 22). Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, Székesfehérvár 1976, p. 125.
  • András Mócsy: The late Roman ship landing in Contra Florentiam. In: Folia Archeologica. 10: 89-104 (1958); again in the other: Pannonia and the Roman army. Selected essays. Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , pp. 222-239.
  • 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, ISBN 963-9046-83-3 , pp. 33–50.
  • Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 124.
  • Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-05-7980-4 , p. 106.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Fort Lugio / Florentia at 46 ° 5 ′ 28.13 ″  N , 18 ° 45 ′ 40.67 ″  E
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-05-7980-4 , p. 106.
  3. ↑ a b c d Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 124.
  4. ^ Inscriptiones Daciae Romanae - Reference = IDR-03-01,00281 ; Epigraphic database Heidelberg
  5. ↑ a b c András Mócsy: The late Roman ship landing in Contra Florentiam. In: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays . Steiner, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , p. 223.
  6. ↑ a b c Jenő Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary . Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976, p. 125.
  7. ^ Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 15.
  8. ^ A b c d András Mócsy: The late Roman ship landing in Contra Florentiam. In: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , p. 226.
  9. ^ Antal Horvath: A duna-szekcsői római falmaradványokról. In: Archaeologiai Értesítő. 5, 1885, pp. 37-38.
  10. ↑ CIL 03, 10277 .
  11. ↑ CIL 3, 10278 .
  12. ↑ CIL 3, 10279 .
  13. ↑ CIL 3, 15148 .
  14. ^ A b András Mócsy: The late Roman ship landing in Contra Florentiam. In: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , p. 224.
  15. ^ A b c d András Mócsy: The late Roman ship landing in Contra Florentiam. In: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , p. 248.
  16. ↑ Endre Tóth: The late Roman military architecture in Transdanubia. In: Archaeologiai Értesitő. 134, 2009, p. 33.
  17. ↑ a b c d e Zsolt Máté (ed.): Frontiers of the Roman Empire - Ripa Pannonica in Hungary (RPH), Nomination Statement, Vol. 2. National Office of Cultural Heritage, Budapest 2011, p. 20.
  18. ^ András Mócsy: The late Roman ship landing in Contra Florentiam. In: Pannonia and the Roman Army. Selected essays. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , p. 236.
  19. ^ András Mócsy: Pannonia and the Roman army. Selected essays. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-515-06103-7 , p. 246.
  20. ^ Zsolt Mráv: Az "előretolt helyőrség" - késő római kikötőerőd Dunakeszin. In: Dunakeszi helytörteneti szemle. December 2009, p. 5.
  21. ^ Sándor Soproni: The last decades of the Pannonian Limes. CH Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-406-30453-2 , p. 76.
  22. ^ Translation: "Administration of the Border Troops". According to Titus Kolník: Cifer-Pác - a late Roman station in Quadenland? In: Jenő Fitz (ed.): Limes. Files of the XI. International Limes Congress (Székesfehérvár, 30.8–6.9.1976). Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1977, ISBN 963-05-1301-3 , p. 187.
  23. ↑ a b Ádám Szabó , Endre Tóth (ed.): Bölcske. Roman inscriptions and finds - In memoriam Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) Libelli archaeologici Ser. Nov. No. II. Hungarian National Museum, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-9046-83-3 , p. 80.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ Route = numbering follows Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary (Theiss 1988) and Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. (Akadémiai Kiadó 2003)
  26. ↑ Burgus Lugio 5 at approximately 46 ° 3 '49.13 "  N , 18 ° 44' 9.07"  E
  27. ↑ Burgus Lugio 6 at approximately 46 ° 3 '35.53 "  N , 18 ° 43' 56.1"  O
  28. ↑ Burgus Lugio 2 at about 46 ° 3 '4.54 "  N , 18 ° 42' 54.65"  O
  29. ↑ Burgus Lugio 3 at 45 ° 59 ′ 32.08 ″  N , 18 ° 41 ′ 40.59 ″  E
  30. ^ Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 125.
  31. ^ Eszter B. Vágó, István Bóna: The late Roman southeast cemetery. Volume 1 of The Burial Fields of Intercisa . Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1976, ISBN 963-05-0743-9 , p. 197.
  32. ↑ Burgus Lugio 4 at approximately 45 ° 58 '21.2 "  N , 18 ° 40' 25.07"  E
  33. ↑ Kastell Mohács-Kölked at 45 ° 57 '21.99 "  N , 18 ° 41' 2.11"  O .