Crumerum fort

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Crumerum fort
Alternative name Crumerum
limes Pannonian Limes
section 2
Dating (occupancy) Trajan
until the end of the 4th century
Type Cohort and cavalry fort
unit a) Cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium civium Romanorum
b) Equites promoti
size around 105 × 110 m
Construction stone
State of preservation largely destroyed, no longer visible
place Nyergesújfalu
Geographical location 47 ° 45 ′ 33.8 "  N , 18 ° 32 ′ 11.1"  E
height 135  m
Previous Almásfüzitő Castle (Azaum, Odiabum, Odiavum) (west)
Subsequently Tokod Fort (southeast)
The location of the fort on the Upper Pannonian Danube Limes.
The place of Fort Crumerum, which was completely covered over during the freedom struggles 1703–1711 and was almost completely destroyed in the process. View from the southwest.
Foundations of a post-Roman chapel in front of the presumed northern corner tower of the fort. During their construction, Roman bricks were walled up secondarily. The photo gives an impression of the ancient view into the Barbaricum . On the right a wall of the baroque ski jump.

The fort Crumerum was a Roman military camp , whose crew for safety and monitoring tasks at Limes Pannonicus along the Danube was responsible. The river formed the Roman frontier in large sections. The remains of the fort discovered directly above the south bank were in the eastern part of the northern Hungarian municipality of Nyergesújfalu (German Sattel-Neudorf ) in Komárom-Esztergom county . The ancient fortification was completely covered over by a fortress made of huge earthworks and largely destroyed in the process during the Hungarian struggle for freedom (1703–1711). Today there are no more Roman remains to be seen at this point.

location

The Crumerum fort was located on the important Roman military and trade route that linked some of the most important Roman provincial cities in Europe along the Danube Limes . The garrison had to monitor a section of the Limes, which was threatened in many phases of the Roman history of Pannonia , because Rome lived in a tense relationship with the Germanic tribe of the Quadi who lived on the opposite bank of the Danube . In addition to the aggressiveness of the Quads, there were often broken words and betrayal. Due to the persistent dangers from the Barbaricum , the Brigetio legionary camp was built a few kilometers west of Crumerum . Northeast of Crumerum, the Esztergom (Solva) fort secured the river border. In the 4th century, the Tokod fort was also built in the hinterland between these two garrisons near an important road crossing. South of Fort Crumerum rises the highest area of ​​the west-east running mountain range of the Geißgebirge with the 634 meter high Nagy-Gerecse. The country flattens out significantly to the north, towards the Danube, which is also east-west. The Crumerum fort was built in a strategically excellent location on the Sánc Mountain, which slopes steeply to the west and north. From there, the river below and the foreland could be seen very well. The northwest corner of the facility into the Danube has been eroding since ancient times.

Research history

The ancient site was already known before the freedom struggles. An early brief description was given by the English travel writer Richard Pococke (1704–1765), who was traveling along the Danube with his cousin Jeremiah Milles (1714–1784). Even if the modern ski jumps, which had already fallen into disrepair, already existed in his time, he could still detect clear traces of Roman building activity:

"We saw a number of Roman bricks in the ruins of the fortress and elsewhere strong foundations that appeared to be Roman."

- Richard Pococke : A Description of the East, and some other countries , 1745, 2.2. P. 246.

The traveler was also able to describe Roman inscriptions from the camp area. In the 20th century, aerial photographs were used to make parts of the fence and the interior visible. In addition, the archaeologist Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) carried out measurements on the fort area. In the 18th century, the clergyman and scholar Stephan Schönwiesner (1738–1818) wrote that clear Roman traces could still be seen above Neudorf. Official excavations have not yet taken place at Crumerum Fort.

Surname

The name Crumerum is mentioned in two ancient writings, in the Itinerarium Antonini , a directory of the most important Roman imperial roads from the 3rd century, and in the late antique state manual Notitia dignitatum . Some archaeologists like Endre Tóth and in his sense also Zsolt Mráv did not doubt the name Κοῦρτα (Curta) of Claudius Ptolemäus in his atlas Geographike Hyphegesis from the 2nd century , presumably on the occasion of the first political division of the provinces between 130 and 136 AD was noted.

Building history

As far as the complex can be identified via the old aerial photo and an illegal excavation of the Porta praetoria - the main gate - the fort, which was built in the 2nd century, had a floor plan approaching the square with an area of ​​around 105 × 110 meters. One of the excavated gate towers had one meter thick walls and 1.5 × 1.5 meters inside. The gate towers protruded slightly from the wall of the fence. In the 4th century, the complex was given far protruding, fan-shaped corner towers with a rounded front. Towers of this type are typical ingredients of late antiquity. They were observed on many types of garrison along the central Danube Limes and can be attributed to a more or less long, coherently organized building campaign. A coin found at the Baracspuszta Castle (Annamatia) , which was minted during the reign of Emperor Constantine II (337-340), is considered to be evidence of the earliest point in time at which this tower shape appeared. According to the archaeologist Márta Kelemen , Crumerum was used for military purposes until the end of the 4th century.

Troops and military personnel

The following units replaced each other at this location in the order given:

Time position Troop name comment
from 110–118 or 119 AD Cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium civium Romanorum The 5th cohort of Callaeker Roman citizenship , originally excavated in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis , was relocated to an unknown location in Illyria - the later province of Pannonia - after identification of a military diploma at the latest during the reign of Emperor Nero (54-68) unknown location. Probably at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Vespasian (69-79), the troops withdrew from the province that had been established in the meantime and were then barracked in the province of Noricum . A brick temple fragment recovered in Bratislava-Rusovce could indicate that the Callaekers were quartered there in the Gerulata fort . According to the archaeologist and epigraphist Barnabás Lőrincz (1951–2012), after the division of Pannonia (98–117) ordered by Emperor Trajan (98–117 ), the troops were assigned to the Upper Pannonian army and came to Crumerum, which is clearly confirmed by the inscriptions listed below and a brick stamp. A constitution of July 2, 133 also mentions unity - yet without the honorary title civium Romanorum - in the province of Upper Pannonia. However, this can already be found for July 10, 138. An honorary inscription for Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211) recovered in Crumerum , erected by the Callaekers themselves, dates between December 10, 197 and December 9, 198 AD In line 15 of the inscription, the troop's honorary surname, ANTON (iniana), was added later.
4th century Equites promoti The use of this cavalry troop is documented by the Notitia dignitatum .

During his governorship of Upper Pannonia, dated between 169/170 and 172 AD, Gaius Iulius Commodus Orfitianus donated a votive altar to the Nymphae Medicae :

Nymphis
Medicis
sacrum
C (aius) Iulius Commodu [s]
Orfitianus
leg (atus) Aug (usti) pr (o) pr (aetore) v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito)

Translation: “ Dedicated to the Nymphae Medicae ; Gaius Iulius Commodus Orfitianus, governor, gladly fulfilled his vow and paid a fee. "

The above-mentioned statue base with an honorary inscription, which is now walled up in the Catholic rectory and which the Cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium had placed for Septimius Severus, certainly once belonged in the central area of ​​the fort. In 1955 an altar dedicated to the goddess Fortuna Augusta was recovered from the bed of the Danube near Crumerum . It was built by the Optio (NCO) Serratius Regulianus together with Furius Lucilianus, Aurelius Cogitatus and other donors. Lőrincz saw in the abovementioned persons soldiers Cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium and situate the stone in the time between 200 and 250 n. Chr. In 1978 a rider facing grave inscription was found in the late antique grave 5 of the deceased with 76 years centenarius (hundred guide) Aurelius Leonatius, for whom his Schola Centenariorum - the Association of Hundred Leaders - placed the tombstone between 200 and 260 AD.

A commander (Praefectus cohortis) of the Cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium , Antonius Iulianus Aulianus, donated a stone that is now lost for Neptune and the nymphs in the fort . The stone is said to have been created during the reign of Emperor Commodus (180–192) or Caracalla (211–217) due to the difficult to decipher title .

The lost altar of Terentius Iustus, a Beneficiarius procuratoris , who acted as the executive hand of the financial procurator , also came from the fort .

Vicus and burial ground

The camp village ( vicus ) of the fort was at the foot of the fort mountain. Remnants of walls and terracing were found on the south-west and north-east flanks. In 1955 the remains of at least two reconstructable milestones came to light in a clay pit of the local brickworks, which - kept in the company's office - are now lost. Shortly after the find, the archaeologist András Mócsy (1929–1987) was able to prepare a scientific report.

The grave field of the 2nd and 3rd centuries has not yet been found. The late Roman burial site was found along the Limesstrasse leading south of the Kastellberg. 16 graves were uncovered there by 2003. In some cases, older Roman inscriptions were found built into later tombs.

Lost property

Many ancient finds from Crumerum are now in several museums in the country. In Esztergom they can be found in the Christian Museum, the Castle Museum and the Bálint Balassi Museum. Other pieces have the Komitatsmuseum Kuny Domokos in Tata and the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest . Numerous pieces also ended up in the hands of private collectors through illegal excavations.

Limes course from Fort Crumerum to Fort Tokod

Traces of the Limes structures between Nyergesújfalu and Tokod.
route Name / place Description / condition
2 Nyergesújfalu (Burgus crumerum 1) The remains of a Burgus were discovered by Soproni in 1959 in the northeastern district of Nyergesújfalu near a paper factory and a coal depot. The archaeologist inspected the Danube bank after massive regulation had taken place a year earlier. Probably the workers had largely destroyed the ruins in their activity. Soproni recognized a building foundation measuring around 15 × 18 meters in the rubble of local andesite and limestone. During his investigation as well as during field inspections in the following years, brick stamps of LEG (io) I ADI (utrix) were recovered, which were active in the region from the end of the 1st to the 5th century AD as ancestral troops of the Brigetio legion camp. The stamps from the Burgus could be dated to the 2nd to 3rd centuries. An aerial photo from 1951 shows the Burgus, directly on the river bank before the Danube regulation. This photo showed that the facility still had a double ditch at that time. These trenches were around five to eight meters wide and around 26 × 26 meters and 45 × 45 meters wide. The inner area, the location of the Burgus, stands out in the photo as a dark area that formed a square of 18 × 18 meters. The Burgus, which is covered with a tiled roof, as is usual on this Limes stretch, shows the archaeologically well-known structures of a late antique guard and weir system on the late antique Pannonian Danube Limes. Due to the brick temple, Soproni did not consider it impossible that an older watchtower could already have stood at this point, but the remaining building remains can be attributed to the 4th century. Analogous to the surrounding guard posts, a building from the Valentinian I era (364–375) can be assumed.

Monument protection

The monuments of Hungary are protected under the Act No. LXIV of 2001 by being entered in the register of monuments. The Crumerum fort, the areas of the associated vicus 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

  • Barnabás Lőrincz: Lost Milestones from Crumerum / Nyergesújfalu. Crumerum / Nyergesújfalu elveszett mérföldkövei. In: Archaeologiai Értesitö. 135 (2010), pp. 201-207.
  • Barnabás Lőrincz: A brick stamp of the cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium from Crumerum. In: Acta classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis. 46 (2010), pp. 79-82.
  • Sándor Soproni: Crumerum. In: Jenö Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary. Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976, p. 43.
  • Zsolt Visy : The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 63.

Web links

Commons : Kastell Crumerum  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Legionslager Brigetio at 47 ° 44 '1.64 "  N , 18 ° 11' 38.92"  O .
  2. ↑ Kastell Esztergom at 47 ° 47 '53.79 "  N , 18 ° 44' 11.72"  O .
  3. ↑ Kastell Tokod at 47 ° 43 '37.13 "  N , 18 ° 40' 35.77"  O .
  4. ↑ a b c d Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 63.
  5. ↑ Márta Kelemen: Crumerum, Castellum. In: Zsolt Visy (ed.): The Roman army in Pannonia. Teleki Lázló Foundation 2003, ISBN 963-86388-2-6 , p. 83.
  6. ↑ Itinerarium Antonini 246.2; 266.8.
  7. ↑ a b Notitia dignitatum occ. 33, 32.
  8. ↑ Endre Tóth: The Ptolemaic determination of the common boundaries of Pannonia Superior and Inferior. In: Folia Archaeologica. 36: 85-98 (1985).
  9. ^ Zsolt Mráv: Imperial building activity at the time of Hadrian in the cities of Pannonia. In: Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 43, No. 1-2 (2003), pp. 125-137; here p. 136.
  10. ↑ Ptolemy 2:15 , 5; 15, 4
  11. ^ Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 9630579804 , p. 42.
  12. ↑ Endre Tóth : Group C. Fortifications with fan-shaped corner and U-shaped intermediate towers. In: Endre Tóth: The late Roman military architecture in Transdanubia (= Archaeologiai Értesitő. 134). Budapest 2009, p. 44.
  13. ↑ a b c Márta Kelemen: Crumerum, Castellum. In: Zsolt Visy (ed.): The Roman army in Pannonia. Teleki Lázló Foundation 2003, ISBN 963-86388-2-6 , p. 84.
  14. ↑ July 2, 60 AD: CIL 16, 4 .
  15. ↑ a b Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliary troops in Pannonia during the principle time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Forschungsgesellschaft Wiener Stadtarchäologie, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-902086-02-5 , p. 33.
  16. ↑ September 3, 84 AD: CIL 16, 30 .
  17. ↑ September 5, 85 AD: CIL 16, 31 .
  18. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliaries in Pannonia during the Principate's time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Research Society Wiener Stadtarchäologie, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-902086-02-5 , p. 29.
  19. ↑ [C] oh (ortis) V Luc (ensium) .
  20. ↑ Ludmilla Kraskovská: A tile with the stamp of Cohors V Lucensium from Bratislava-Rusovce. In: Archeologické rozhledy. 41: 576-579 (1989); here: p. 579.
  21. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: A brick stamp of the cohors V Callaecorum Lucensium from Crumerum. In: Acta classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis. 46 (2010), pp. 79-82.
  22. ↑ CIL 16, 76 .
  23. ↑ AE 1994, 1393 .
  24. ↑ ubi erat lipa: 8091 honorary inscription for Emperor Septimius Severus ( CIL 3, 10602 ); accessed on May 10, 2018
  25. ↑ CIL 3, 10595 .
  26. ↑ Barnabás Lőrincz: The Roman auxiliaries in Pannonia during the Principate's time. Part I: The Inscriptions. Forschungsgesellschaft Wiener Stadtarchäologie, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-902086-02-5 , p. 242.
  27. ^ Barnabás Lőrincz: Roman inscriptions from Northeast Pannonia. In: Endre Tóth , Ádám Szabó (eds.): Pannonica provincialia et archaeologia. Studia sollemnia auctorum Hungarorum Eugenio Fitz octogenario dedicata. Libelli Archaeologici - Régészeti Füzetek Ser. Nov. 1, Budapest 2003. pp. 249-262; here p. 249.
  28. ^ Péter Kovács : Tituli Romani in Hungaria Reperti. Supplementum (= The Roman inscriptions of Hungary. 7). Enciklopédia Kiadó, Budapest 2005, ISBN 963-8477-82-2 = Habelt, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-7749-3374-X , no.101 .
  29. ↑ CIL 3, 3662 .
  30. ↑ CIL 3, 3663 .
  31. ^ Barnabás Lőrincz: Lost milestones from Crumerum / Nyergesújfalu. Crumerum / Nyergesújfalu elveszett mérföldkövei In: Archaeologiai Értesitö. 135 (2010), pp. 201-207; here p. 201.
  32. ↑ Route = numbering follows Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary (Theiss 1988) and Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. (Akadémiai Kiadó 2003)
  33. ↑ Burgus Crumerum 1 at 47 ° 45 '21.25 "  N , 18 ° 36' 38.97"  O .
  34. ^ Zsolt Visy: The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003. ISBN 9630579804 . Pp. 44-45.