Esztergom Castle

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Esztergom Castle
Alternative name Solva / Solua
limes Pannonian Limes
section 2
Dating (occupancy) Claudine
until the early 5th century at the latest
Type a) Cohort fort
b) Late Roman cavalry fort
unit a) Cohors I Augusta Ituraeorum sagittariorum
b) Cohors I Ulpia Pannoniorum milliaria
c) Equites Mauri
d) Cuneus equitum Scutariorum
size unknown
Construction a) wood-earth?
b) stone
State of preservation Not visible; the remains are largely built over on the castle hill.
place Esztergom
Geographical location 47 ° 47 ′ 56.5 "  N , 18 ° 44 ′ 12.2"  E
height 150  m
Previous Tokod Fort (southwest)
Subsequently Burgus Esztergom-Szentgyörgymező 1 (northeast)
The location of Solva on the Upper Pannonian Danube Limes.

The Esztergom Fort , in Latin Solva , was a Roman military camp whose crew was responsible for security and surveillance tasks on the Pannonian Danube Limes . The river formed the Roman frontier in large sections. The remains of the fort discovered on a foothill of the Pilis Mountains above the Danube are today in the area of ​​the northern Hungarian city ​​of Esztergom (Gran).

Aerial view of the castle hill on which the fort stood in Roman times.
View from the opposite bank of the Danube to the castle hill.
View of the water town between Burgberg and Danube.
Roman finds from ancient Solva and its surroundings.
Milestone and consecration altar in the Balassa Bálint Museum. The age of the legionary veteran Aurelius Respectus, dating from the year 230 AD (consular dating), possibly comes from Aquincum or Pilisvörösvár.
Roman altar and sarcophagus in the Balassa Bálint Museum.
Modern remnants of a Roman milestone south-east of the castle hill on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út.

location

The fortification was built directly on the banks of the Danube on a free-standing, oval rock plateau. Geologically, the approximately 150-meter-high elevation belonged to a north-western foothill of the Pilis Mountains. The exposed location allowed the crew a complete all-round view. From here, the army and trade route running to the east in a depression between the fort mountain and the rising mountains could be seen from a great distance. The Danube coming from the south-west, which flows past the former fort square in an arc that extends far to the north-west, as well as the opposite bank of the river in the Barbaricum , which runs very flat in the west, could also be easily controlled from this point. In particular, the areas bordering the Roman Empire in this area of ​​the Germanic Quadas, which were viewed as potential opponents, should be kept under observation. With the help of the chain of watchtowers erected along the Danube, rapid communication with the other fortifications along the border was ensured.

Research history

Due to the good defense possibilities, the future castle hill had been inhabited by people from the earliest times. During the construction of the archbishop's basilica , which dominates the plateau today - in 1820 - previous excavations were unfortunately not carried out. The research of the 20th century - which started from the 1930s - had to be limited to small probes due to the post-Roman, large-scale building developments . The research of the archaeologist Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) in particular provided valuable information about the building history of this fort. Archaeological excavations took place in the years 1934 to 1938, 1961 to 1962 and 1981 to 1999.

One of the most controversial chapters in Hungarian Limes research was the search for the location of the Solva mansio , mentioned in three ancient sources, in the Itinerarium Antonini , in Claudius Ptolemy's and in the Notitia Dignitatum . Based on the analysis of these sources, Esztergom could almost certainly be identified as the Roman solva .

Building history

There is no archaeological evidence of an early wood and earth fort that can be accepted for this site. In particular, the northern Italian and southern Gallic terra sigillata found on the site , the Istrian amphorae and inscriptions can be dated back to the reign of Emperor Claudius (41–54). After Soproni, the previously known Roman building activity began immediately above the stratum of a La Téne D settlement (150 BC – 30/0 BC) that was previously built on this site and can be assigned to the 2nd century. Between this late Celtic settlement and the early medieval layers, Roman building periods from different eras could be recognized over a length of 150 meters.

A horreum (granary) was mostly uncovered under the former barracks yard and a horizon from the Arpad period . After the collapsed tiled roof had been removed, a burnt layer of grain was found, in which a well-preserved coin from the reign of Emperor Claudius Gothicus (268–270) was recovered. The foundations of the horreum were on the one hand based on the walls of the first - probably only short - warehouse construction period, but on the other hand they disrupted the building structures of the second period several times. Soproni assumed that the Horreum was created during a renovation phase under the Severans (193-235), which in turn is related to the massive destruction on the Limes during the Marcomann Wars (166-180). Based on the finds, he dated the fire in the storage facility to the year 270, when a quadratic-vandal-sarmatian or vandal-swebian-sarmatian attack devastated the Pannonian border area. The horreum was subsequently only temporarily repaired and received a new roof. Apart from that, the excavators could not find any further changes. The building existed in this form until the Constantinian era.

From the following layers, 40 to 45 centimeters above ground level of the storage building, a late Roman layer of destruction could be recorded, which contained a coin from the reign of Emperor Constantine (306–337), a fragment of a box fitting and a brick stamp with the imprint VINCENTIA .

Other stamps show the brands CORTA VICEN (tia) , Quadriburgium , Terentius dux and Frigeridus dux . The last-mentioned personalities were in command of the late antique Pannonian province of Valeria under Emperor Valentinian I (364-375). At that time, extensive construction work took place on the Rhine and Danube as part of the border stabilization.

Troop

Time position Troop name comment
until 89 AD Cohors I Augusta Ituraeorum sagittariorum In his 2001 featured Pannonian troops list of Principate who called epigraphist Barnabás Lőrincz (1951-2012) which will thereafter fort Ad Statuas (Várdomb) stationed '1. Archer cohort of Ituraeans "place. During the second Dacian War of Trajan, the unit was withdrawn from Pannonia and incorporated into the Dacian army.
from 118/119 AD Cohors I Ulpia Pannoniorum milliaria equitata civium Romanorum The 1. Partially mounted double cohort of the Pannonians Roman civil rights ”, a unit of around 1000 men, took part in the Dacer wars of Emperor Trajan and received Roman citizenship as an award. Subsequently, the troops were transferred first to Carnuntum and later to Esztergom. According to a military diploma from October 9, 148, which was recovered in Ászár , the honorably discharged soldier named therein came from the Azali settlement area in the vicinity of Solva. This troop probably also built the first stone fort. The brick stamps recovered here are also evidence of the possible presence of this cohort.
4th century Equites Mauri,
Cuneus equitum Scutariorum 		In late antiquity, a troop of Moorish horsemen originally raised in North Africa and then a mounted unit of shield bearers lay in garrison in Solua .

Vicus and burial ground

In the area of ​​today's city of Esztergom, a large number of Roman finds were found early on, which also indicated a larger civilian settlement. During emergency excavations, traces of the camp village ( vicus ) were observed several times in the area of ​​today's water town below the castle hill .

The late Roman burial ground southeast of the castle hill, under the baroque chapter houses, was occupied according to the finds in the 4th and 5th centuries. Another burial ground was found on the nearby Sankt-Georgsberg.

A special find from the grave area came to light in 1890 in the Bánom corridor near Esztergom. The rectangular inscription tablet belonging to a grave building from a Jewish burial was discovered. The stone made for a iudatus and a cassia in the 3rd century AD received a simple incised drawing of the seven-armed candlestick ( menorah ) and above it the following Latin-Greek inscription:

Μεμορια Iudati patiri
et μεμορια Κασσιε
εὐλ (ογία)

Post-Roman development

The material of the Roman building remains on the castle hill was reused with the Hungarian conquest for the construction of several successive buildings, the remaining foundation walls almost completely disappeared under the newer building layers. In the early Middle Ages, Slavs settled in the ancient ruins and established a fortified settlement called Strigonium . For the history of Hungary today, the excavations at the first Hungarian royal palace, which was later built here and to which a Christian basilica belonged, are of particular importance.

Lost property

Most of the finds from the fort and the surrounding area are now in the Castle Museum , a branch of the Hungarian National Museum and in the Balassa Bálint Museum at the foot of the castle in Esztergom.

Monument protection

The monuments of Hungary are protected under the Act No. LXIV of 2001 by being entered in the register of monuments. The Tokod Fort 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

General

  • Albin Balogh: Néhány adat Esztergom városának és vármegyének római korából (Some information on the town and county of Esztergom during Roman times). In: Esztergom Évlapjai 1934, pp. 41–52.
  • Sándor Soproni: Rescue excavations on the Danube Limes near Esztergom (Solva). In: The results of the archaeological excavations during the construction of the Gabčíkovo – Nagymaros power plant. Nové Vozokany 6-7 October 1988. Archaeological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Nitra, 1990. pp. 43–48.
  • Sándor Soproni: New research on the Limes stretch between Esztergom and Visegrád. In: Roman frontier studies 1979. 12th International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies. BAR Oxford 1980. ISBN 0-86054-080-4 . Pp. 671-679
  • Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. The defense system of the province of Valeria in the 4th century. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1978.
  • Sándor Soproni: Solva (Esztergom). In: Jenö Fitz (ed.): The Roman Limes in Hungary. Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976.
  • Zsolt Visy : The ripa Pannonica in Hungary. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 2003, ISBN 963-05-7980-4 , pp. 46-48.
  • Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , pp. 67-68.

Individual studies

  • Márta Kelemen , Mónika Merczi: Az esztergomi Várhegy 1934–38. évi ásatásának késő kelta és római kori kerámiája. Late Celtic and Roman ceramic finds from the excavations of Esztergom Castle Hill in 1934–38. In: Komárom-Esztergom Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 9, 2002, pp. 25-72.
  • Márta Kelemen: Solva. Esztergom későrómai temetői. The late Roman burial grounds of Esztergom. Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest 2008. ISBN 978-963-7061-48-6 .
  • Péter Kovács , Barnabás Lőrincz : Altars from the Solva auxiliary camp. New Roman inscriptions from Komárom-Esztergom II county. In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy. 179, 2011, pp. 247-270.

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 67.
  2. ↑ a b Márta Kelemen: Solva Castellum In: Zsolt Visy (ed.): The Roman army in Pannonia. Teleki Lázló Foundation 2003, ISBN 963-86388-2-6 , p. 86.
  3. ^ Itinerarium Antonini 266, 13.
  4. ↑ a b Notitia Dignitatum, occ. XXXIII, 24.
  5. ↑ a b Notitia Dignitatum, occ. XXXIII, 31.
  6. ↑ a b Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1978, p. 16.
  7. ↑ a b c d e Zsolt Visy: The Pannonian Limes in Hungary . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8 , p. 68.
  8. ↑ a b c Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1978. p. 18.
  9. ↑ Kurt Genser: The Austrian Danube Limes in Roman times. A research report. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1986. ISBN 3-7001-0783-8 . P. 774.
  10. ↑ a b Sándor Soproni in: Jenő Fitz (Hrsg.): The Roman Limes in Hungary. Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, 1976.
  11. ↑ 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. 37.
  12. ^ Barnabás Lőrincz , Zsolt Visy: The auxiliary troops of the province of Pannonia superior under Trajan. In: Acta archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 39 , Budapest 1987. pp. 337-345; here: p. 344.
  13. ↑ CIL 16,96
  14. ^ Sándor Soproni: The late Roman Limes between Esztergom and Szentendre. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1978, p. 21.
  15. ↑ CIL 3, 10599 ; Zoltán Kádár : The Asia Minor-Syrian cults during Roman times in Hungary. Brill, Leiden 1962. p. 42; Alexander Scheiber: Jewish inscriptions in Hungary, from the 3rd century to 1686. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest - Brill, Leiden 1983, ISBN 963-05-3304-9 / ISBN 978-963-05-3304-1 , p. 42. The The inscription is now in the Jewish Museum in Budapest .